How do I confirm a seller's photos aren't stolen from another company's website or listing?
Short answer: A reverse image search is the fastest check — if a seller's product or facility photos appear on an established company's own website or a different, unrelated listing, that's a serious red flag worth investigating directly with the seller before proceeding, since this specific pattern is common in scams impersonating legitimate operations.
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Browse Listings →Why this particular scam pattern is common
Borrowing professional-looking photos from a real, established company’s website is an easy way for a fraudulent listing to look more credible than a seller’s actual operation — a photo of a large, well-organized facility feels more trustworthy than no photo at all, even if it has nothing to do with the actual seller.
How to check quickly
A reverse image search of any facility or stockpile photos in a listing takes moments and can reveal if the image is associated with a completely different, established business — if it is, that discrepancy deserves a direct, specific explanation from the seller, not just an apology and a promise of “real” photos later.
What a legitimate explanation might look like versus a red flag
A seller might reasonably use a generic stock photo for illustration if clearly labeled as such — the problem is photos presented as the seller’s own facility or stock that actually belong to someone else, especially when the seller doesn’t proactively disclose this.
How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier
Reporting a listing with images traced back to an unrelated business helps ScrapTrade maintain listing integrity for the whole marketplace, not just resolve your individual concern.
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