On Instagram, as on many other social networks, there are so-called fake profiles, which are nothing more than profiles created by some people using another identity.
The person who creates the false profile uses a name that does not belong to him and photographs that do not belong to him either. And the truth is that profiles like these abound in this social network.
Fortunately, there are some clues or signals that you can detect to identify if it is a fake profile or not. And since Instagram does nothing to avoid these profiles, it is up to users to be able to identify them to report them.
So, if you want to know how to identify a fake Instagram profile, you should keep reading this article.
Why you should beware of fake Instagram profiles
For this question, there is not only one answer, since it will depend on the intentions of the person behind the false profile.
It is true that people do not always create fake profiles on Instagram with bad intentions. Sometimes they are just people wanting to make a joke, or they do it with the intention of being able to gossip other profiles without running the risk of being identified. However, a large number of these profiles are created with the intention of tricking and scamming people.
You must beware of any account that is created with false information, as they are all potential sources of scams or scams. The correct thing is that every time you see an account that meets the characteristics of being a fake account, report it immediately.
Signs that an Instagram account is fake
Fake profiles share certain characteristics in common , which make it easier to identify them. These are the signs to look for:
Check the date of your posts
A common feature among fake profiles is the fact that they have a suspicious number of posts made on the same day.
This is because the people who create these fake profiles, in their attempt to make it look like a real account , try to upload as many posts as possible. And as a result, they upload large amounts of photos or videos in a single day, not taking into account that, in a real profile, it is not at all common for a person to make so many posts at once.
If you come across a profile that has uploaded most of its posts on the same day, it is most likely a fake profile.
Look at the number of followers
You should also be suspicious of accounts that have a low number of followers and follow a lot of accounts. If the number of followers is greater than the number of followers, this may be an indication that it is a fake profile.
On the other hand, if the account has a lot of followers, but has little engagement on their posts , that’s also a red flag.
Real accounts, which have a large number of followers, also have a high amount of engagement on their posts. It is suspicious to have so many people seeing what you post and no one commenting or liking it. These accounts with few interactions are a clear sign that it is a fake profile.
Check account followers
Sometimes these accounts have an overwhelming number of followers. An amount worthy of a celebrity. This happens because the person behind the fake profile decides to buy followers in an attempt to make the account look real.
And how can you identify fake or bought followers? You can use this app to check if the followers of an Instagram account are fake. You can also check their origin: if they are Indian, Arab, Russian or Chinese profiles, without a photo, have no followers, follow very few accounts, have no posts and have long usernames, then it is most likely that it is from a fake follower.
Is the account active?
There may be real accounts on Instagram that are not as active. However, account activity should also be something to consider, as fake profiles are generally inactive.
Checking the frequency with which they publish and the general activity of the profile, will give you a clear idea if it is a fake profile or not.
Another thing is the text at the bottom of the photo. In fake profiles, you usually won’t find any text at the bottom of the photo, or maybe you will, but they are usually quite generic.
No profile picture or bio?
Just as there are some people who take the time to “dress up” their profile to make it look as real as possible, there are some who don’t even bother to post a profile picture.
Accounts that do not have a profile picture or a bio are definitely accounts to be wary of. By not putting any information on the account, the person is trying to keep their identity hidden.
Investigate your profile picture
If you suspect an account and it has a profile picture, what you can do in this case is use the profile picture to clear up any doubts.
The profile photos of these fake accounts must come from somewhere, and they usually turn out to be photos taken from the Internet, from some image bank or from the profiles of other users. Knowing the origin of the photo, you can quickly determine if the profile is fake or not.
Nowadays, there are many ways in which you can download an Instagram profile picture. Once you have it downloaded, you just have to place it in the browser of your choice so that it shows you a result with all the pages where the same image is found.
That is, if the photo was taken from an image bank , the browser will show you the link to this page where the photo was taken. And if it was taken from another profile , it will show you the profile where the image was taken from.
Have any world-known celebrities or companies started following you?
There are a lot of fake accounts created under the name of a famous celebrity or company, made with the intention of scamming people, making them believe that they have won a sweepstakes or something like that.
However, there are also accounts of this type that are only created by fans, with no intention of scamming anyone. But don’t discount the fact that these are still accounts that are run by people whose identities are unknown.
If you want to know if an account really belongs to a celebrity or company, the first thing you should do is verify that it actually has the blue check.
This is a verification badge that Instagram only gives to people or brands that are known and frequently searched for. If the account does not have this blue check, then it is a fake profile.
In conclusion…
If any of these accounts start following you or if they send you a private message, you must take the necessary precautions to avoid falling for possible scams.
If you suspect that any fake account is on your list of followers or following, delete it. But, above all, do not open any link that this account sent you and do not provide any personal information , such as your email or phone number.
The best thing is that you block that account so that it cannot interact with you in any way through Instagram and report it so that Instagram takes care of deleting the account and preventing other users from falling for the same scams.
And if you liked this article , you will surely be interested in knowing how to avoid spam on your Instagram account.
