Fake Social Media accounts and how to recognize it.
Introduction
Do you wonder why fake social media accounts exist? Are you asking why it matters that there are fake social media accounts and content? Maybe you think they don’t pose a threat? However, you are mistaken; fake social media accounts spread scams, false information, and phony products. The Better Business Bureau has some tips for us.
The following list can help you decipher the right from the wrong.
1. Does the content look fake?
Fake accounts often use stock images and don’t have photos of themselves or their environment. Photos or images may be of poor quality, or you might have seen them elsewhere. Look for spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Be aware that there are people who have good language skills, and some people are not posting in their native language, so bad grammar on its own does not always constitute in a fake account.
2. Is this a new account?
Inspect when the account was created. A very active account created a month ago should raise some flags, especially when the account holder is selling something. Check how many followers or friends this account has. New accounts with 600 followers should make you wary. Don’t just look at recent posts; scroll back a few years to see if it is legitimate.
3. Strange friends or contacts
Take a peek at some of the friends on the page in question. Do they have pages of their own that were established long ago, or are they recent as well? Are some just names without any posts? Does the friend list contain names of celebrities? Are the friends out of character with the account holder’s posts? These should all make you doubt the account’s authenticity.
4. Does the account have a website?
In the case of a social media account from a company, you can check if this is a legitimate social media page. You do this by going to the official company page on your web browser. From there, you can access the link to their social media page. Ultimately,y you will be able to compare whether the two accounts are identical. If not, it could be a fake social media page, and you should let the company know.
5. Is the account verified?
High-profile accounts, famous people, and influential persons have a verification symbol on their accounts. This symbol varies by social media platform. Not everyone gets a verification symbol, but if you are following a famous person, it can make it clear whether the account has been cloned or is a person posing as a famous person. To check the verification symbol, head over to the FAQ part of the Social Media platform.
Report fake accounts
When you find a fake account, it is important to report it. Each Social Media platform has its own method to report fake accounts.
On Facebook, go to the page’s main page and click the three dots at the bottom of the photo to open the menu to report the page. Instagram follows these same instructions to report fake accounts on its platform. On twitter the menu is accessed by clicking the three dots next to the account name and following the instructions from there.
If you are not sure how to report fake accounts on other Social Media platforms, the FAQ page is the place to go for more information on this process.
Why are fake social media accounts created?
You might ask what the purpose of fake Social Media accounts? For many people, it makes no sense, as the account holder seems to gain nothing from having a fake account, except maybe creating chaos. Some of the reasons include:
1. Impersonating you or others
By impersonating you, the owner of the fake account can approach your contacts in order to ask for money or request personal data. In essence, that can be construed as identity theft.
2. Romantic scams
Praying on vulnerable people, including underage children and the elderly, the bad actor could fake an interest in you. Additionally, they could engage in a relationship with you and try to scam you out of money. There is always a chance that a bad actor could try to set up a meeting somewhere, and that way you could fall victim to human trafficking.
3. Shopping scams
Fake company pages with alluring products can sell you items that never get delivered. Always check online to see whether these companies actually exist before falling for any of their products.
4. Giveaway and Competition scams
Advertisements being shared by a contact in your contact list, urging you to enter a competition because they won a cruise with this company, or something similar, can be a way to entice you to leave all your details. Bad actors can sell this information. They might even ask you to pay an entry fee.
5. Charity scams
During times of crisis, when people are urged to be generous, fake charity pages that promise change could steal your money without you even knowing they’re fake.
6. Misinformation
Fake profiles are used to spread misinformation about people or events. They can even be used to ruin the reputation of companies and people. Bad actors can threaten people and post embarrassing photos while pretending you are the one who posted it.
Conclusion
Creating a fake account on a Social Media platform is not a crime; if it is used in a harmful way, it could be. Defamation, Online harassment, Impersonation, and revenge porn are all criminal offences. On Facebook alone, there are over 2 billion fake accounts. Always be careful about what you post on these social platforms; never trust anyone, and verify all information you find on social media Platforms.
If you are interested in finding out about Fake websites, head over to our other blogs to explore more blogs in this series.
