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A fake social media influencer isn’t someone you want to follow. While a well-known influencer has amassed a large following through their creativity, wit, mission, message, business, and image – a fake is there to trick you into something.
The question is, what?
Let’s explore how you can spot a fake social media influencer and protect yourself from being scammed or tricked.
Whether you mainly use social media through your page or that of a brand, not catching other’s fake accounts can make your own page/brand look suspect. Imagine someone viewing your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or other social media page and noticing that your most prominent followers are people they have never heard of (but who seem to possess an unbelievable number of followers).
As Many Followers as a Celebrity but Not a Celebrity
If an influencer has followers that their page doesn’t seem to be worthy of, they probably paid for their followers and received them through using a bot.
Gaining Followers Too Quickly
You add or follow someone only to find that they are getting hundreds of new followers in a week or less. This is a sign they have paid for the attention they are receiving. It is always a red flag when new pages (that haven’t gone viral) build a social media following that would take other users months or years.
Not Many Posts but Many Followers
As with tip #2, unless someone takes time and builds up their page or goes ‘viral,’ their number of followers should go hand-in-hand with the amount of effort, time, and attention they’ve given their page.
Everything Is Sales Oriented, or It Is a Business That You Have Never Heard Of
If a page is set up as though it is for a ‘real’ person, but seems to contain photographs similar to those of paid models you might be right! If someone is continually selling the same product on their social media pages, they are probably a paid spokesmodel.
If it is for a business you haven’t heard of, decide if you want to be their customer. If not, unfollow however engaging the social media’s images are.
You’ve Never Heard of Them, but Are One of the First Few People They Friend or Follow
This is often a new account that has been created to get adds by using a bot. Real users typically add friends and family first, not strangers.
Scams & Redirects
If someone is private messaging you links or asking for money, beware! They are more than likely a scammer. Another problem is when fake accounts try to redirect you to another site that might contain malware or be linked to hackers.
Final Tip:
Trust your “gut” or “instinct.” If something about an account doesn’t feel right, click away or block the user. Still not sure? Look on Berify and reverse search the image of a social media influencer.
You might discover the photographs in question were stolen from Google or that others have complained about the same user. Other times, you’ll verify their identity and be reassured. No one enjoys being tricked! Find out the truth today.
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