How To Spot A Fake Account On Facebook Using These Warning Signs

Facebook will always be considered one of the popular social media platforms. The best thing about Facebook is its user interface, which allows anyone to create a new profile without much hassle. However, the smooth account creation process also makes it easier for bad actors to create fake accounts. According to Cybernews, Facebook has deleted more than 27.67 billion fake accounts since October 2017, which is almost three times the current world population. That's definitely a shocking number.

One of the main agendas of the people who are behind these fake accounts is to scam legitimate Facebook users. They'll try their best to impersonate a real account and trick you into giving them your personal information or even transferring some money. Furthermore, they might even send you a suspicious link or files in messages, interacting with which may spread malware or viruses on your device. To ensure you don't become a victim of a fake Facebook account, you must carefully examine the profile before adding it to your friend list. Here are a few of the warning signs that will help you spot a fake Facebook account.

Firstly, you should only accept friend requests from people whom you know in real life. However, it might be possible that a bad actor will create a fake profile of someone you know in order to scam you. To avoid such a situation, whenever you receive a friend request from someone whom you know in real life, you should contact and ask them personally whether they have sent you a friend request on Facebook. If not, then you should immediately delete that friend request and report that account.

Next, you should examine the profile picture. Oftentimes, a fake Facebook profile will have a generic or an AI-generated profile picture. You can use the reverse image search feature to check if that profile picture is being used somewhere else on the internet. If the profile picture appears genuine, the next thing you should check is their friend list. Fake profiles often lack genuine profiles as their friends, especially those who are mutual to you. Furthermore, most accounts in the list will be very random; they will all be from different countries, or even worse, they will all be fake accounts themselves.

The timeline is another thing that you should examine to determine if a Facebook account is real or fake. If a profile is real, their timeline will likely be filled with posts, comments, and other interactions on Facebook. Furthermore, they will have the bio and intro section of Facebook filled with correct information like where they work, their relationship status, and other personal details. If you find inconsistency in any of these things, there's a high possibility that it's a fake account.

Once you have spotted a fake profile, the next thing you need to do is report it to Facebook. Here's how to do it through the Facebook app.

1. Go to the Facebook profile that you think is fake, tap the three dots, and choose the Report profile option.
2. Choose Fake Profile.
3. Select who that fake Facebook profile is impersonating.
4. Hit the Submit button.

Meta will also provide other actions that you would like to perform with that account, like blocking it from your Facebook friend list and Messenger, or hiding all their posts. Select either of these options if you want. The Meta team will then carefully use different standards and technology to monitor the reported profile. If they come to the conclusion that the profile is indeed fake, they will remove that account from Facebook. You will be notified about their decision, whether they have removed the reported fake profile or not, in your Facebook notification box.