The problem of identity theft is gaining momentum. Here's how to protect your profile from intruders.
Unfortunately, scammers and scammers who use social networks to deceive people are not a new phenomenon. However, recently such cases have become much more frequent.
Over the past year, a serious problem for Instagram users has been the massive appearance of fake accounts on the platform. Particular attention is drawn to the inability of the Meta company, which owns this social network, to effectively combat this phenomenon.
Observations show an increase in the number of fake profiles that use other people's photos and personal data. Reports about such accounts are often ignored by the support service, despite the presence of obvious signs of abuse.
An example is the account history with the name Santiago Scott from Spain, which imitated the identity of Brazilian Thiago Cualhato. After a full-time BleepingComputer discovered that the account was fake, he immediately contacted Instagram support, but even after a while, the fake profile was not blocked.
The real account was registered in 2013, the fake one in 2022
Such incidents occur regularly. Users who are victims of fake news often face Instagram's reluctance to solve the problem. In 2023, Meta even introduced paid "Meta Verified" verification for a monthly fee ranging from $ 11.99 to $ 14.99, but the question of the effectiveness of this measure remains open. No one prevents a fraudster from paying $ 15 and getting a verification jackdaw even earlier than the real victim of identity theft.
Users can take a number of steps to protect their data, such as closing their account from prying eyes and accepting only familiar users as subscribers, refusing to share photos and videos with unfamiliar users, using watermarks on photos, and regularly complaining to support if a copycat account has already been created. However, the social network itself should take more active measures to block such fakes.
Protecting your personal data and photos remains a critical element of online security. Actively identifying and reporting fake accounts helps reduce the risk of fraud and protect both yourself and the entire user community.
Let's hope that Instagram will still pay attention to this current problem and make the platform more secure. In the meantime, users should be especially vigilant online and take a responsible approach to publishing their personal data.
Unfortunately, scammers and scammers who use social networks to deceive people are not a new phenomenon. However, recently such cases have become much more frequent.
Over the past year, a serious problem for Instagram users has been the massive appearance of fake accounts on the platform. Particular attention is drawn to the inability of the Meta company, which owns this social network, to effectively combat this phenomenon.
Observations show an increase in the number of fake profiles that use other people's photos and personal data. Reports about such accounts are often ignored by the support service, despite the presence of obvious signs of abuse.
An example is the account history with the name Santiago Scott from Spain, which imitated the identity of Brazilian Thiago Cualhato. After a full-time BleepingComputer discovered that the account was fake, he immediately contacted Instagram support, but even after a while, the fake profile was not blocked.
The real account was registered in 2013, the fake one in 2022
Such incidents occur regularly. Users who are victims of fake news often face Instagram's reluctance to solve the problem. In 2023, Meta even introduced paid "Meta Verified" verification for a monthly fee ranging from $ 11.99 to $ 14.99, but the question of the effectiveness of this measure remains open. No one prevents a fraudster from paying $ 15 and getting a verification jackdaw even earlier than the real victim of identity theft.
Users can take a number of steps to protect their data, such as closing their account from prying eyes and accepting only familiar users as subscribers, refusing to share photos and videos with unfamiliar users, using watermarks on photos, and regularly complaining to support if a copycat account has already been created. However, the social network itself should take more active measures to block such fakes.
Protecting your personal data and photos remains a critical element of online security. Actively identifying and reporting fake accounts helps reduce the risk of fraud and protect both yourself and the entire user community.
Let's hope that Instagram will still pay attention to this current problem and make the platform more secure. In the meantime, users should be especially vigilant online and take a responsible approach to publishing their personal data.
