Facebook has become a social network for millions of people. "Some" people use it with bad intentions. They may "approach" you for information, steal your identity, or even destroy your reputation. How do you fortify yourself from such predators? We'll show you some ways to protect yourself and your family on Facebook. Read on!
Step
Step 1. Understand the importance of recognizing fake accounts
First and foremost, the person using the fake account is – almost certainly – a swindler. Unless you're comfortable, you probably don't want them in your life.
- While they may present themselves as friends or even attractive people, their primary goal of being friends with you may be as dangerous as "mind manipulation" or they may want something more, such as your money, belongings and property.
- The fraudster may also be planning to steal your identity or valuable information that they can use to deceive others again.
Step 2. Don't talk to strangers
At the very least, think twice before you accept friend requests from people you don't know and people you don't connect with on a logical and verifiable basis. If in doubt, do the following:
Ask them: What made them want to be your friend? How do they know you? Who do you know in general? By clicking on their name, you can see if you have any friends in common. If you have a friend in common, contact your friend. If not, you should suspect it
Step 3. Do a little detective investigation
At the very least, this investigation will be fun. You may also find that your intention to accept the person's friend request is bad news. Here are some things to investigate:
Step 4. Read the person's profile carefully
Is what he said true or is there a statement that is very hard to believe?
For example, there may be a photo of a very young person next to a purported professor or top executive. Does this photo look redundant and even nonsensical? Trust your own feelings for this. You might even ask for proof of what the person said–after all, they were the ones who approached you first. You have the right to ensure that they are "authentic"
Step 5. Check their profile photo
Is there only one? Does it look too perfect or does it look edited? Maybe you've seen it before? A good photo–or an edited photo–isn't necessarily a negative sign, but they probably got it from Google, thinking no one would notice. Try doing this:
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Click and drag their profile photo to your desktop.
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Open Google Chrome or Firefox and go to Google Images.
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Drag and drop the profile photo into the search bar as shown in the following image:
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Google will return the most suitable results (with information such as name) or images that are similar to the previous image.
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Step 6. Find their name in the network (internet)
This method won't work if the name is used frequently, but for names that are rarely used, the search results might show something interesting.
- If they have a name they use frequently, add other information such as their location, approximate age, or any other information you can find from their profile.
- Have they ever been tagged? "Real" people are usually tagged here and there as part of the sharing experience on Facebook.
Step 7. Check their friends
Are their friends from overseas or local? The more local friends, the more likely the person is genuine. The more global their friend list with few or no local friends, the more suspicious the person is.
The very small number of local friends indicates that this person is not a real person, but just a fake account. This method is often used by people who pretend to be attractive young women. They will usually contact you with things like, "I saw your photo and you look great."
Step 8. Block friend requests
If you're not sure about someone, there's one simple solution: don't accept friend requests, block them.
- Click on their Facebook name and go to their "chronology". On the right, under your profile photo, click message settings:
- You can block them from contacting you or report them to Facebook if you feel they are a threat or are engaging in illegal activity.
Step 9. Create a "trial period"
If you tend to get into the habit of accepting friend requests from friends of your friends or making friends with people because they seem to have the same taste as you when it comes to music, cooking, dancing, or whatever, then you're just "opening yourself up" to fake accounts.
- While you can create an awesome network of connections this way, first try to always have someone you really know to vouch for this person. If that's not possible, be on the lookout for signs of suspicious behavior, such as suddenly bombarding you with "likes", comments, photos, etc. every day.
- If you don't know this person very well, they should start the conversation gradually and politely, rather than immediately "attack" you.
- If after a week or two you don't feel comfortable with your new friend, unfriend them!
Step 10. Beware of fake accounts that are linked together
Once upon a time, if someone had a lot of friends with whom they interacted and "confirmed" or "guaranteed" each other, you thought that the person must be genuine. Not always!
- There are increasing cases of one person running multiple fake Facebook accounts, pretending to be different people, "guaranteed" to each other and trying to make friends with real people!
- One of the most prominent examples is the case of Natalia Burgess, where she created a web of fakes and caused many young boys to fall in love with her various pseudonyms – all because she felt a lack of love. Sadly, such scammers will attempt to create linked fake accounts, including other social media accounts and web pages to give the impression that their fake charms are "real".
Step 11. Look at inconsistent historical records
If you become the target of a structured web of lies, everything will soon be exposed. This is the most obvious proof that someone who tries to run multiple fake Facebook accounts at once, will at some point make a mistake and mix up their story.
If you start to notice this in their comments or in their response to your question, keep it in mind and keep an eye out for other inconsistencies
Step 12. Pay attention if the person says something strange or "out of character"
For example, if an adult is pretending to be a teenager, he or she might say something that indicates her real age by relating to things like historical events or people that teenagers generally don't know. In other words, they may appear to know too much about a topic that their "artificial figure" shouldn't.
Take note of the suspicious person's words earlier, everyone will slip too! Nobody is perfect and they will someday say something that will show that you are right
Step 13. Be very careful in expressing love, affection, and romantic things
If there's someone you've never met who lives thousands of kilometers away from you and openly reveals he's attracted to you, be suspicious of that person. Sometimes, the cheater does it because he takes pleasure in playing with other people's lives and feelings; sometimes this is done because they fall in love with someone online, but they are too afraid to reveal their true identity (or they already have a special relationship in real life); sometimes this may be because there is something else he wants, such as money, sex, or drugs.
- Ask about your feelings and motivations if you start to "like" someone who has expressed love for you online. Is it too fast? Too weird? Too crazy? A little sentimental? Trust the feeling and remove this fake friend from your account.
- If they ask for sexy photos of you, immediately suspect this person. Fake accounts are a great hiding place for free pornographic material that is then spread online.
Step 14. Unfriend them
If you feel suspicious, unsure, or uncomfortable about their presence as part of your Facebook friends, stop them before things get worse. They are not your real relatives or friends and they can bring you a lot of trouble later on.
Warn your other friends on Facebook if you find out that they are also friends with this fake account. One tactic that scammers use is to make friends with other people in your circle of friends to try to make the friendship seem more "real."
Tips
- Be careful what you post online and what you say to people you don't really know. Some people are so caring until they have enough information about you and then they will turn around and blackmail you with that information. If you don't know the person, no matter how close your friendship is with them online, keep your details private and keep things general.
- Look for evidence of offline interactions with their Facebook friends. However, keep in mind that this can be faked if they use multiple Facebook accounts.
- Check the links they provide to personal web pages, social media pages, etc., to help you check if the information makes sense.
Warning
- Read How to Prevent Identity Theft so this doesn't happen to you.
- Watch your teens. Teenagers are the most vulnerable individuals to be attacked for the purpose of building online relationships with people who don't actually exist. They fall in love with the perfect person and the cheater is happy to serve them for his own satisfaction or for some other reason.
