Ever heard of catfishing? Well, it is a trend where many people have fallen to.
It destroys many lives and still creates false hope to people till this day. However, there is nothing to be ashamed of if you have been a victim of it.
Hackers and catfish are becoming smart and have found various ways to fluke the system and fool everyone. Also, as long as you have signed up on a social media platform like Instagram, you’ll surely come across fake accounts.
Luckily, there are ways for you to know if someone has created a fake Instagram account. Continue reading to learn the tips on protecting yourself online.
How to Know When Someone Has Created a Fake Instagram Account
1. Inspect Their Profile Picture
Generally, you’re likely able to determine how legit an account is through their profile picture.
In most cases, fake accounts don’t have a profile picture. Even if there is a profile picture, the profile picture tends to look suspiciously perfect. In another word, you will be able to tell.
2. Weird Followers Count
The next thing to check is their following count. Usually, a fake Instagram account will follow an oddly large number of people but having zero followers, or maybe just one or two followers.
Another situation is this account will have thousands of accounts following them and with no following. And this is despite them having an unusual profile picture or no profile picture at all.
3. Oddly Sound Username
Lastly, the username will definitely sound or look odd. More often than not, these fake Instagram accounts will have a confusing username that is followed by random numbers.
Sometimes, you will come across a somewhat normal username. However, when you look into the profile, the profile picture as well as the little content posted doesn’t seem to match with the username shown.
All in all, after examining all the criteria and you still suspect that the Instagram account is fake, you’re well within your right to report it to Instagram or block the account.
How to Find Out Who Is Behind the Fake Account
Now that you are certain that a specific Instagram is fake and would like to uncover who is behind the façade. Well, there are some tricks you can use.
It may seem like a complex mystery to uncover, but uncovering it is actually easier than you think.
As a matter of fact, there are many tools on the net where you can utilize to discover the unknown and solve the mystery. The best part is that they are all free.
Lullar
This is a tool that can track others’ social handles that belong to the fake account. All that you need is the username of that phony account.
Just type in the username and you will get an email address. Lullar will then cross-examine the email address and produce all the social handles that are connected to the address.
Through the result, you may be able to uncover the person if their real Instagram account is also linked to the email address.
Instagram Fake Follower Checker By iStaunch
Another option to consider is using the Instagram Fake Follower Checker launched by iStaunch.
iStaunch is a web-based tool that provides information on how long an Instagram account has been created, their Instagram engagement level as well as social reach.
Although it doesn’t give out the details of the person behind the fake account, at least you know what appropriate action to take after. You can either remove these fake followers, block them or report them.
Private Instagram Viewer
With this option, it is compulsory to type in the name of the fake account. Then, Private Instagram Viewer will do the rest.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that you may not be able to know exactly who the person is without having their email address at hand.
Track The IP Address
Another well-known way to track down who is behind the fake Instagram account is through the IP address.
IP address will give you the exact location of where the account may be coming from. Thankfully, there are many different ways in which you can do this. One particular website you can use is ipleak.net.
Keep in mind that the action of looking for an IP address itself is not illegal. However, using it to threaten a person is when everything starts to become a crime.
Hence, if you want to take the situation further – especially if there are elements of misdemeanor –then reporting it to the police is a wiser option.
Final Thoughts
As long as you are an Instagram user, you’re bound to come across a fake Instagram account. There are many reasons why someone creates a fake account. These include stalking, scamming for money and catfishing.
Fortunately, there are ways to know if an Instagram account is fake. The key takeaway from this though is that it may not be as easy as to find out who is sitting behind the fake Instagram account. Still, it is worth trying.
So, the next time you suspect that an Instagram account is fake, examine their profile picture first. Then, look into the number of followers and following. Lastly, check their username.
If you are keen to find out more information about who’s behind this fake account, there are a few free tools you can use to uncover the mystery.
However, keep in mind that you may not find out exactly who it is. The best way to deal with a potential fake account is to block or report it.
