ISTD - Online Fakery research

Some people will try to dupe Facebook users for reasons of their own, from having a bit of fun, to duping for its own sake, right through to grooming people online or seeking to behave fraudulently. For your own sake, knowing how to spot a fake Facebook account is an important part of keeping safe online and remaining distant from people you don't know.

EditSteps

1. 1
   Know why it is important to spot a fake account. If you're wondering what can happen to you from having a fake friend on Facebook, there are quite a few things that can cause you distress and loss from being involved with a con artist (which a Facebook faker usually is). For example, you could be manipulated into believing someone really cares about you when all they want is to play mind games for their own satisfaction or to get money, goods, property, or something else from you. The impostor might also be setting you up to steal your identity or valuable information from you that they can use to manipulate someone else.
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2. 2
   Think twice about accepting friend requests from people you don't know or who haven't been connected to you through legitimate, verifiable means. If you're not sure, consider the following:
   • Ask them questions: What makes you want to be my friend? How did you find out about me? Who do we know in common (you can then check)?
   • Look at their profile photo. Is it way too perfect or does it seem touched up in any way? Maybe you've seen it before?
   • Search their name online to see if it returns. This won't be so useful if the name is a common one but for a more unusual one, there might be some interesting returns.
   • Have they being tagged? A real person is generally tagged here and there as part of the Facebook sharing experience.
3. 3
   Read the profile carefully. Does what is being said add up or are there some really hard-to-believe statements being made? For example, maybe there is a photo of a very young person next to claims of being a professor or a CEO. Does the embellishment seem more than the usual "making oneself look good" and come across as simply implausible? Trust your own senses on this one. You could even ask for proofs of some of the things the person has stated.
4. 4
   Check out their friends. Are their friends global or local? The more local the friends, the more likely the person is to be real. The more global their friendship list, with very few or no local friends, start getting suspicious. The lack of local friends suggests that this is not a real persona you're dealing with but a fake account.
5. 5
   Be alert to anyone new that you've friended but don't really know. If you're in the (not-so-great) habit of accepting friend requests from friends of friends' friends or because they seem to have similar tastes to yours in music, cooking, dancing, or whatever, then you leave yourself open to the occasional fake. While you can make wonderful connections in this way, try to always have someone you do know vouch for this person first. And if that's not possible, be alert to signs of weird behavior, such as suddenly bombarding you with likes, comments, photos, etc. on a daily basis. If you hardly know this person, they should be taking things slowly and politely, not invading your space immediately.
6. 6
   Beware interconnected faking. At one time it was probably reasonable to think that if someone had a group of friends interacting with them and vouching for each other, that that person must be real. However, there are increasing cases of one person running numerous fake Facebook accounts, pretending to be an array of different people, allvouching for one another and all trying to be friends with someone real! For example, the case of Natalia Burgess who wove a web of deceit and caused many young males to fall for her various aliases, all because she felt inadequately loved.^[1] Sadly, impostors of this sort go to incredible lengths to create an array of fake accounts including other social media accounts and websites to give the impression that their fake personas are "real".
7. 7
   Look for and record inconsistencies in the things they say to you. If you're being targeted by an elaborate web of lies, eventually these start to unravel. This is most evident in someone who is trying to maintain several fake Facebook accounts at once and eventually, they will drop the ball and mix up their stories. If you start noticing this in response to questions, or in their comments, take note and remain alert for more inconsistencies.
8. 8
   Do a double take if the person says anything weird or "out-of-character". For example, if an adult is pretending to be a teen, they may say something that dates them by referring to an historic event or person that teens wouldn't really know much about. Or they may prove to know way too much about a topic that someone they're claiming to be would not.
9. 9
   Be really wary of undying declarations of love, affection, and romance. If someone you've never met, who lives thousands of miles away from you, and who has barely revealed themselves gets amorous with you, be suspicious. Sometimes the faker does this because they love the feeling of playing with the life and feelings of someone else; sometimes it's because they're in love with online love but are too afraid to reveal their true selves (or they're in a relationship in real life); and other times it could be that they're after something, like money, sex, or drugs.
   • Question your own feelings and motivations if you start to feel something for a person who declares they love you online. Is it too sudden? Too weird? Too freaky? A little bit icky? Trust those feelings and delete this fake friend from your account.
   • If they ask you for sexy pictures, immediately be suspicious. A fake account is a good shill for getting free pornographic material that then gets passed around online.
10. 10
    Unfriend this person if you're suspicious, unsure, or uncomfortable with having them as part of your Facebook friends. It's not like they're your real friends or family but they could cause you a lot of problems if they keep pretending to be someone they're not to a point where it harms you. Warn other friends of yours on Facebook if you know they have also friended the fake account; one of the tactics of an impostor is to befriend others in your circle of friends to try and make the friendship seem more "real".