It's fake: learn how to identify fake profiles on the internet 2fr2s

On the internet, as in life, people are not always who they say they are. This is a constant that applies to all digital media and online goals: regardless of the medium, it is almost certain that there will be fake profiles to spoil it. The objectives for this are also several, from basic “trolling” in relationship applications and social networks, through automated response robots to fake profiles for carrying out robberies and online scams. 4h5y5j

The point is: fakes are always present on the internet. But no matter how present they are, there are several signs that denounce the presence of one (or more) of them in a conversation. That's why we've created this guide, telling you how to identify fake profiles on the internet in order to preserve your security:

How do I identify fake profiles? 542e3q

Seeking to know if a profile you are interacting with is fake or not is the kind of situation with no middle ground: there is no guarantee that your searches will generate any results (which does not excuse a possible fake profile: suddenly, the person is only very good at hiding tracks), but when you has results, as the expression goes, "it's a hit and miss".

Fortunately, there are some common signs that you are interacting with someone who is not who you say you are. Are they:

1. The profile has very few photos, or even just a photo.
2. The creation date of the “person” or “company” page is recent: It's not a crime to create a Facebook in the middle of 2020, but it's pretty unusual. Most network s bring profiles that date between 2008 and 2015, for example. Authentic profiles with recent creations usually have some clear justification, such as losing access to previous s or a returning after a while away.
3. little or no in common or similar interests: the premise of any social network is to connect you with people who have similar tastes to yours, or who have friends in common. That being said, while there is a possibility that the who added you with no apparent relationship is authentic, chances are high that this is not the case. Always doubt requests that come “out of the blue” and, even in the case of few shared acquaintances, before accepting, try to question who you know in order to obtain more information.
4. When there is no interaction with the profile after you have accepted it: cases like this are common in fake profiles that seek to “artifically grow” their volume of followers on social networks. These are mostly seen on Instagram, basically following you so you feel compelled to follow you back. Once you do that, the profile automatically unfollows you and hopes you eventually forget about it.
5. Open profile, but with low volume of publications and low interaction with other s: the profile in question posts a lot or a little? From what you've already posted, is it self-authored content or re-sharing from other sources? Also look at the volume of interactions, because if the profile has many friends but few likes and comments, it is a sign that it is not only fake, but the “friends” can also be fake.
6. Ask for a video call: ok, no one is saying to go out making video calls to each and every profile that has just connected with you (or even use the famous “send picture now”), but if a profile you've been interacting with for a while and has relative closeness yet refuses to show itself in any way to you, stay tuned. Fake profilers typically avoid cameras and anything “live”.
7. Confirm your stories: Fake profiles tend to craft incredibly detailed stories in order to cover potential holes in a lie. But their mistake in this is that too much detail is equally suspect. If a story seems too outrageous to be true, chances are good that it really isn't, which, by the way, brings us to the next point...
8. RECONFIRM your stories: overly detailed tales contain so much information that often fake profiles will have trouble ing later. So be sure to, later on, bring the subject back to that same story. It is possible that more essential details have changed, which is a very clear sign of a fake profile. A quick Google search shows cases where someone said they had parachuted and, weeks later, claimed it was a hang gliding flight, for example. These small details often make a more complex story fall apart.

There are also other tips: little public information, for example in an open profile, will usually report a fake that was hastily raised and the person behind it didn't want to bother with these details. Can't identify where the person lives or where they are from? Does the person make too many grammatical mistakes (we don't mean slang, we mean things that literally no one would miss) and over and over again? Details such as age or occupation are not given and is the person reluctant when asked? Good chances that “she” is not “she”.

types of fake 5x3j15

The above signals serve as a more general guideline, but it is important to be careful about the type of fake profile Where does your suspicion lie? That's because, contrary to what pop culture shows us, a fake persona on social media is not necessarily someone acting alone, but it could very well be part of a crime.

O fake The most common is known as “Catfish”, a name that is commonly given to profiles in social networks and apps (tinder, Happn and the like) where the person in the photo does not match the person typing behind it. This was popularized by TV shows like MTV's reality show "Catfish", which has been running since 2012, but the idea serves any intention that depicts one person pretending to be someone else over the internet. In these, the above tips usually usually work.

The biggest problem of fake profiles on the internet today are profiles dedicated to “Phishing”. Basically, this is an illegal scheme whose objective is to trick you into providing sensitive information (access credentials to online profiles, your credit card number or bank details and s, among others) in order to harm you — commonly, financial.

O Phishing is established in several ways: online stores whose brand is not well known but brings promotions and benefits too good to be true is a recent example (especially on Instagram, where stories eliminate any trace of attempted scams within 24 hours).

Another example of phishing involves creating fake emails (or stealing real identities) that impersonate an organization's senders. This is common for both consumers and employees of a company: these fake profiles usually approach victims with communications “letting them”, for example, that some software from your bank is out of date and you must fix it by accessing a certain link; or else a company employee has a “bonus” waiting for him and must fill out an online form to receive the reward.

Both links and forms are pages made up to capture your sensitive information and commit illicit acts on your behalf.

In these cases, it is important for you to know the companies' interaction policy with their consumers and employees: as a rule, banks, for example, do not send links or ask for information via email, preferring to guide the client to their branches. or access (on their own) the corresponding application. Companies commonly enforce interaction policies, asking that emails with links or attachments not be sent and, if in doubt, direct their employees to look for internal technology departments.

How does technology help us identify a fake? 5z3k6j

All these precautions are derived from the actions you take, but what about when a fake profile turns out to be smart enough to escape these measures? At these times, you have some (ok, several!) tools that can give a more technical aspect to your investigation, such as:

Reverse Google Image Search: Fake profile owners often use public photos to compose their misleading profiles, so right click on the image and select “Copy image address”. Then go to the Google image finder (images.google.com), click on the camera symbol and paste the copied address.

From here, Google will look for other sources that might be using the same image you suspect. If nothing is found, don't be discouraged, try with more profile pictures (if any) and see what you find. Just pay attention to the fact that Google doesn't index Instagram photos, so the care in this case is redoubled. In the example below, we are looking for the image of the author of this guide:

Google the person's name: you know that joke of “Google” your name and see what the internet returns about you? It's the same thing, but directed to the fake profile. Usually, the search engine can find some content related to the searched name, so if nothing appears, it's time to be on the alert. Again, we search by the name of the author of this guide for example purposes:

Use social media tools: Facebook allows you to adjust your privacy settings to prevent anyone from adding you as one of their s. On the top bar, open the settings menu (the arrow pointing down) and then “Privacy” in the left corner. On this tab, there are a number of options that determine who can interact with you and at what level, as well as who can see what you post. This doesn't stop unknown people from messaging you, but the platform's filter will throw approaches like that into a specific tab.

On Instagram, you can configure your as “Private” (tap your profile picture, then the three horizontal stripes, “Settings” and finally “Privacy”), so that any follower requests have to be previously approved by you. This also bars messages from unknown senders. Click on the images below to see them in full size:

Rely on third-party apps: there is an app called "Fake Off”, linked directly to Facebook, which basically serves to analyze all the tips listed above, through an algorithm. Its free version looks back up to 10 days from the suspect profile's calendar, while the paid one goes back up to a year. With this data, it establishes a “grade” from 1 to 10, where the higher the number, the greater the chance that a profile is fake.

Now if you are in apps like Grindr ou tinder, Veracity (iOS, no Android version) is an application that works in the same way as Google's reverse search, comparing profile photos with databases spread across the internet.

Confirmed: it's fake! What do I do now? 236k2w

In the best “CSI” way, you've discovered—or been too scared of suspicion—a fake profile. We know that the temptation to go on the offensive and “expose” the person is great, and you would not be without reason to do so. But first, consider some important points.

1. Try talking to the person, encouraging them to reveal themselves: It's not the majority of cases, but some fake profiles are kept by people who may be suffering from some disorder or depression, and assuming a confrontational posture right away can end up making the person's situation worse. Suddenly, exposing your knowledge that this is a fake profile in a more receptive way can make the person show themselves, since you tried to understand them before attacking them.
2. Let friends know: if you suddenly notice that the fake profile has also added people from your circle of friends, let them know. They are just as much victims as you are and they deserve to know what's going on. They might be next, after all.
3. Alert adults and authorities: Regardless of how simple a fake may seem, the act of creating fake profiles can be framed in the crime of ideological falsehood (Article 299 of the Penal Code). And since you have no way of knowing who is really behind a fake, there are certain risks to consider: if you are underage, let your parents know so they can alert the authorities — pedophiles commonly hide in profiles of the type.
4. Block : probably the first and simplest of the tools, you can block the suspicious profile from having any interaction with you. On Facebook, you do this by accessing the profile page in question and clicking on the ellipsis symbol (“…”) and choosing the “Block” option. On Instagram, the process is the same.
5. Report the profile to platforms: the social network through which you interacted with the suspect must also be notified, with a process exactly the same as the previous step and selecting the corresponding option. They will take action and will likely delete the reported profile for violating the of use.

Sources: Ditch The Label; Cybint Solutions; FakeOff for Facebook; Google Images