We present the proof of concept of a method for finding strongly lensed quasars using their spatially extended photometric variability through difference imaging in cadenced imaging survey data. We applied the method to Pan-STARRS, starting with an initial selection of 14 107 Gaia multiplets with quasar-like infrared colours from WISE. We identified 229 candidates showing notable spatially extended variability during the Pan-STARRS survey period. These include 20 known lenses and an additional 12 promising candidates for which we obtained long-slit spectroscopy follow-up. This process resulted in the confirmation of four doubly lensed quasars, four unclassified quasar pairs, and one projected quasar pair. Only three are pairs of stars or quasar + star projections. The false-positive rate accordingly is 25%. The lens separations are between 0.81 '' and 1.24 '', and the source redshifts lie between z = 1 :47 and z = 2 :46. Three of the unclassified quasar pairs are promising dual-quasar candidates with separations ranging from 6.6 to 9.3 kpc. We expect that this technique is a particularly e fficient way to select lensed variables in the upcoming Rubin-LSST, which will be crucial given the expected limitations for spectroscopic follow-up.