Have you ever been on a social media account and accepted a friend request from one of your friends, only to realize it was a fake account? Someone—an imposter—was pretending to be your friend. Then perhaps that imposter messages you asking for money. While it’s common on Facebook, I have gotten 4 fake Instagram accounts who followed my Instagram account in the past few months. I checked with my friends and sure enough they didn’t create those accounts.
On Facebook it’s easy to report the fake account and Facebook takes it down. On Instagram, however, it’s harder because Instagram doesn’t know which one is the true you and which one is the fake account. Here are a few ways to tell a fake account from a real one.
CHECK to make sure you’re already friends with that person on social media before going any further.
Message your friend asking if she/he had created another account. If not, it’s a fake account. If she/he did, you can accept her/his request.
Report that fake account.
If it’s a fake Instagram account, the account may be set to private rather than public if you have a public account or vice versa, may have uncomplete info, and have uploaded posts within a 24 hour span all at once. Another giveaway is the username which is different from a true account. For example, your friend’s IG username is Username123 and someone follows you with the username Username123_.
How to report a fake account
- Facebook: Go to the fake account > Click on the dots > Report Profile > Follow the instructions to report the fake account. Or go here to get instructions.
- Instagram: Go to the fake account > Click on the 3 dots > Report> It’s Spam. To go another step further, click on the 3 dots > Report > It’s inappropriate > Report Account > It’s pretending to be someone else > Me, Someone else I know, or a celebrity or a public person. Or go here to get detailed instructions.
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