Fake Influencer Scams: A Nuisance Increasing Daily

Bogus Influencers Now Use AI To Create Fake Settings For Their Videos

We live in a wild world where instant gratification and making money with things we don't own seems to be the norm.

Social media platforms are exciting spaces for everything from finding entertainment to buying trending products. One of the key ways to interact is to find a content creator who provides impactful, valuable posts and follow them so you never miss a thing. However, there are plenty of social media scams that come with it.

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Almost anyone has the potential to get established in some capacity with the right content. As there is some significant potential for money to be made, this can be a viable income stream. Projections suggest that influencer marketing isn't going to fall in favor in 2024. More and more people will be looking for a slice of the pie.

With so many positive attributes, there will inevitably be negative counterparts. When considering social media in particular, fake influencer scams are not only on the rise but are becoming more and more difficult to spot as time goes on. There were cases when some scammers became millionaires using fake power during the pandemic.

This means that it can be essential for those consuming content to be aware of the potential underbelly of the niche, to dedicate their time better, to ensure they don't fall for scam products or services or put personal or financial information at risk.

The Influencer as a Job

In 2023, social media scams were heavily focused on influencer fraud. One case is where individuals purchase followers and use tools to fake engagement in order to fool viewers and sponsors into thinking they have greater success and impact than they actually do.

Those who fraudulently boost their accounts often have insidious reasons for wanting to reach larger audiences, such as making money from promoting products that aren't safe to use or spreading false health information when sharing fitness, dieting, nutrition, and similar topics.

Genuine influencers take this opportunity as a real job. Some even invest in interesting professional tools like the CapCut creative suite to play with their photo and video editing needs and promote user peace of mind and trustworthy content for viewers.

Fake influencer scams can be more diverse than this. In 2024, we will likely see a boost in shady individuals and businesses reaching out to people to take advantage. Whether they are sponsors to pay for bogus travel activities or invest financially in non-existent platforms, victims could be of all kinds.

Here are three typical fraudulent activities:

1. Engagement Pods

Platforms like Facebook and Instagram use algorithms that rely heavily on engagement statistics. This way, fake influencers are reaching out to profiles with good numbers and encouraging like-for-like and comment-for-comment activities in a group setting.

This is a scam because accounts and pages suspected of trying to boost standing non-organically risk being deprioritized, delisted, or shut down completely.

2. Crypto and Investment Scams

Digital currency is a huge niche right now. Trading is a hot topic for those looking to make fast cash with little outlay. Fake influencers are now beginning to hop on the trend, providing fake financial advice and leading viewers to get involved with less-than-reputable projects.

The crypto industry is widely unregulated, so it is rife with its own scams. More and more shady individuals are using social media to point unsuspecting audiences toward these, invest, and then wait for the cash to roll in. They use fake videos and pics showing luxury properties and cars to get victims to invest vast amounts of money in their bogus platforms. Sometimes, they rent these properties just to create the videos and project success.

Once established, they lure their victims into apps like Discord or Telegram, where they create communities that follow their lead.

One of the most common scams in this niche is the Pig Butchering Scam.

3. Phishing Scams

One of the biggest frauds likely to be associated with fake influencers in the coming year involves phishing scams. Victims get direct messages from fake ‘established' names that seemingly require action in order to prompt a response that will lead to stolen information.

In this case, criminals duplicate real influencers' accounts, create fake videos using deepfakes, and contact the fans and followers with suspicious requests.

There have been increasing cases of entire accounts being hijacked or stolen. Depending on how the victims use their accounts, they could access everything from financial details to get information on and hijack additional accounts and even begin the process of extortion.

How To Spot Fake Influencer Accounts

The most prominent way to spot a fake influencer account is to look at their content, how often they post, and what they are promoting. Real influencers will want diverse, engaging, professional-quality posts and often use photo and video editing tools to support their efforts.

Look out for professionally cut, trimmed, and resized content, dynamic music and sound effects, no unwanted items or sneaky product placement in the background, and well-written captions with no typos or errors.

Genuine influencers invest in editing tools like the YouTube video editor, where they can upload videos to meet specific parameters with little learning or manual input.

Posting can be a significant indicator, too, as the suite's functionality will allow for fast creation and upload times. This means that real accounts will be on top of trends, post behind-the-scenes content, and engage in AMAs and similar posts that will confirm more recent activity.

Fake influencers are more likely to recycle content and prioritize obscurity to give the illusion of reputability.

How To Find Out If a Profile Is Fake

Here is some good news. Watch the video below to see how you can easily identify if the profile contacting you on social media is a fake. You can apply to all platforms, not just Facebook:

Do you want more tools?

If you feel an influencer might be suspicious, feel free to verify their website using our unique Scam Detector. You can check any scam website below:

How To Report a Social Media Scammer

Let your close family and online friends know about this article. Feel free to share this page if it was helpful. Officially, you can report scammers and any other suspicious activity to the Federal Trade Commission – FTC (most important), the Office of the Inspector General, and the FBI Internet Complaint Center by using the pages below:

Report To The FTC
Submit Claim To The Office of the Inspector General
Report To The FBI Internet Complaints Center