Protect yourself
AI clean-up tools can erase a creased corner in seconds. These checks take a minute and catch most of them before money changes hands.
Real cards show dust, fiber, and tiny nicks under light. AI-smoothed corners are perfectly rounded with no surface reflection at all.
Zoom to 200%. Genuine photos show print dots, gloss, and refractor pattern. AI upscaling flattens that into a painted-looking sheen.
Check small type — serial numbers, trademarks, copyright lines. AI reconstructs letterforms it cannot read, so they thicken, bend, or lose characters.
Warped table edges, fingers, or sleeve seams near the card border mean the image was regenerated or expanded, not just brightened.
Look for a consistent highlight and a matching shadow. AI images often light every edge evenly, with a shadow that does not line up.
Save the image and check its file info. A modern phone photo carries EXIF data and high resolution; a stripped, small file is a flag.
Run the listing photo through Google Lens or TinEye. Enhanced listings sometimes reuse an image that already exists somewhere else.
Ask for a fresh photo of the card beside a handwritten note with today's date, or a short video under angled light. Refusal ends the conversation.