How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
You have heard many times about Instagram and, intrigued by this very famous social network, you have sought information about it. So you came across my guide on how Instagram works and, after reading it carefully, you became a regular visitor to the service. You have also built a circle of followers rather fed, but you suspect that within the latter there are “profiles flirt” anything but well intentioned!
In fact, you have noticed that some of your followers do nothing but send strange links and that others, apparently unknown, have a great desire to make friends with you and to discover personal and confidential information. So, you immediately asked yourself how to understand a fake profile on Instagram to immediately run for cover and, if necessary, get rid of it permanently. I am happy to tell you that you have come in the right guide: in fact, I will go to provide a series of tips and advice that can help you unmask all those followers who, in one way or another, would spy on you, fill you with spam or harm.
Before going on with this guide, I would like you to have a clear view of a fundamental aspect: despite everything, you can not be absolutely sure that an account is fake or not because there is no safe way to realize it. That’s why I suggest you read my tips and learn them to perfection, but to always apply them with a bit of … common sense!
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check if the account is verified
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
Some time ago, you realized that an account similar to that of your favorite public figure has started to follow you, however your myth does nothing but send you Mentions and Direct soaked in spam. Is this a normal behavior? Of course not, indeed: the practice of pretending to be a public figure is one of the most used by spammers of Instagram, that all those people who try to attract other users to products or services, for the purpose of earning something, using the name of public figures and very followed.
If you’ve noticed such behavior by a follower of yours, it is almost certainly a fake account. Perhaps you are not aware of it, but Instagram allows you to recognize in a very simple way an official profile belonging to a public figure from one that is not: just check the presence of the blue check, which represents the authenticity certification of Instagram, next to profile name. I told you in detail about this feature in my guide on how to have the blue check on Instagram.
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check the authenticity of the photos
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
Do you suspect that the Instagram contact that is trying to establish a relationship of “virtual friendship” with you is not actually who it claims to be, so you think it’s a fake profile that just wants to make fun of you? As I have already told you, I can not guarantee that you will be able to realize it right away, however a very important aspect to check concerns the published photos.
In very simple words, what you can do is check through Google or other search engines the personal photos (and not only those) published by the profile that you think is false: for example, you could use a photo of the alleged face of your contact to verify if it is actually his, or it is a random image taken from the Internet.
You can proceed in a rather simple way: first save on your computer or on your mobile device the photo you want to check, downloading it directly from the Instagram profile of your contact (or possibly saving one of his stories, in this guide I explained how to do), then access the search mode through images of the search engine that you feel most appropriate to use, upload the photo saved a moment ago and take a look at the results. If you do not know what to do, I suggest you read carefully my guide on how to look for a person through a photo.
If the results obtained lead to social profiles or Internet pages of people with a different identity than the presumed one of your contact, in most cases you are dealing with a fake Instagram profile: in this case, I advise you not to trust at all. of what this person can tell you.
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check the profile information
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
Very often, the creators of fake Instagram profiles only partially fill in public information about themselves: name, biography and so on. So, if you notice incomplete profiles, with few and sporadic information or even without images, then they are probably false profiles.
Be careful not to confuse yourself with the private profiles of Instagram: before concluding that the profile has too much information to be “credible”, make sure it is your follower, otherwise you may simply not have permission to access the profile information due to privacy settings.
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check the frequency of posts
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
Always keeping in mind that there is no mathematical certainty to catch a fake Instagram profile, another factor to take into consideration when you are suspicious of this is the frequency of posts. Let me explain: on average, an active “authentic” Instagram profile (ie belonging to a person who really exists) publishes at least a couple of content a day, with a lot of position and, in many cases, tags to other Instagram users.
In the case of false accounts, this convention changes drastically: there are hardly any published content with regular frequency and frequency, especially if the profile is used only to “spy” someone, tease or spam through Direct. This type of profile, in the jargon, is called the profile ghost.
It is also true that, in some cases, it may happen that an Instagram user is not active but still real: this straight can still be useful in case you already have some suspicion, since there are other clues that make you think of a so-called fake. There are tools that allow you to control your followers in search of the so-called ghost: I have told you in detail in my tutorial on how to unfollow all on Instagram.
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check the comments and mentions
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
Another great clue to discover a fake profile on Instagram is to take a look at the comments and mentions that the “suspect” leaves around the social network. For example, if it is a spammer, it could insert disconnected and / or out of place comments to your photos or those of others, often in different language or with an incorrect grammar, always leaving a “track” (whether it is an Internet link or a hashtag) from which you can take advantage. For the same reason, you may be mentioned in post for which you have no interest or purely advertising content.
As for the false “spy” profiles, it is quite difficult to recognize them through the comments or mentions: if someone intends to spy on you, it will certainly have the cunning to keep a very low profile, not to be suspicious and to carry out as little activity as possible on Instagram; moreover, to try to get your trust, it could involve in your posts and in your comments other people you are bound to: monitor carefully this aspect and be careful if you notice clearly suspicious activities.
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check the list of followers
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
Another very important signal to distinguish a fake Instagram profile from a real one is the list of his followers. Regarding spam accounts, the recognition is almost immediate: this type of fake profile “usually” boasts a very high number of followers, also belonging to different nationalities and without having anything in common with each other.
In other words, fake spam-targeted accounts tend to grab more followers than they can (I told you the basic techniques for doing it in my tutorial on how to increase Instagram followers), in order to spread your advertising messages (via DM, comments and so on) as many people as possible.
As for the fake spy accounts, however, the situation could be slightly different: usually the followers of a profile of this type are not many and are fewer than the follow, which are instead added to “make number” without arousing suspicious (would you ever follow an Instagram profile without follower / follow?).
The distinctive feature, however, is the “origin” of these followers / follow: if the owner of the alleged false profile claims to be Italian, you should be suspicious if among his contacts you know more accounts from other parts of the world. Pay attention to this aspect!
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – Check Instagram Direct messages
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
It may seem obvious to you, but I can assure you that you often tend to overlook the importance of Instagram Direct messages when you suspect a profile is fake! As for spammer profiles, there is not much to say: they will do nothing but fill your direct box with spam messages, containing links to websites that could prove to be harmful.
A very different story, however, concerns the false profiles that want to spy on you or get information about you: in general, the most “known” strategy is to start a direct conversation with you using any excuse, and then try to earn your trust and to steal the information he is interested in obtaining.
Also, as I mentioned in the comments section, these people could pretend to be “friends” of other users you really know, in order to find out more about you: pay attention to the fake strangers you might encounter, they may not be at all!
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram – How to block fake Instagram profiles
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram
If you’ve come to read so far, it means that your suspicions are founded: the Instagram profile you suspected of is actually false, so now you’re wondering how to get rid of it and block it permanently, so that it has no more information about you and / or do not send more annoying spam material.
Before doing so, however, carefully review the private conversations (if any) with this person: if the profile was created to obtain personal information or if you have exchanged files or other material, the intention could be to hack your Instagram profile or otherwise damage it. In this case, I suggest you scan your devices with a good antivirus and immediately change all the passwords that can be traced using the information you have naively provided to this person (for example your date of birth or name of your dog). In this regard, I advise you to carefully read my guide on how to create secure passwords, in order to avoid the same error again.
Once you have analyzed the interactions with the false profile and took the necessary precautions, you can block it permanently using the practical blocking function provided by Instagram: to do so through the app, go to the Instagram profile that you want to block using the search bar in high, presses the button (…) placed in the new page, you tap on the item Block and confirm your intention by touching the button Yes, confirm / lock. I gave you detailed information on how to block on Instagram in my dedicated guide.
How to understand a fake profile on Instagram