Protect Yourself from Fake Social Media Profiles

The rapid advancement of technology and the popularity of social media accounts have made it easier and more attractive for scammers and criminals to reach out to the public with ill-intent. A profile commenting on posts might look like a business or person that you know but could be a fake profile created by a scam artist. Anybody can be a target, including celebrities, influencers, businesses, and ordinary people.

Scammers will make fake social media profiles impersonating a business or an individual and use that profile to interact with other users on the platform by responding to comments or attempting to send messages directly. Activity from the fake profiles can range from annoying attempts to start arguments to criminal activity like stealing personal identifying information and/or money.

Tips to Help Identify a Fake Social Media Profile

Protecting yourself online is more critical than ever. Businesses often include links to their official social media profiles on the corporate website. Before interacting with an online account claiming to represent a business or somebody you might know, and especially if you have a suspicion the profile may be fake, there are some things to help determine whether the profile is authentic or not.

• Profile Picture

Fake accounts often use avatars or symbols as their profile images. They may also use photos stolen from an authentic account. Sometimes, if they use a photo of a person, it is often low-resolution, which can be a red flag when the account supposedly belongs to a public figure or celebrity.

A profile picture can be run through a search engine such as Google Image Search for a reverse image search to see if the image is linked to another account or has appeared somewhere else on the internet.

• Photos

In addition to a profile photo, a legitimate business profile will usually include photos that are related to the business, the industry it operates in, or the product or service delivered. Fraudulent accounts often have very few photos, and the images may seem completely unrelated to the business.

• “About” or Intro Information

A legitimate business profile will have a filled-out introduction with information such as:

• A verified website link
• Verification symbols or badges
• Business category (e.g., Facebook PAGE, not a personal profile)
• Reviews and recommendations
• A high follower count
• Visible and regular posts

• Suspicious Names and Connections

Fake accounts often use randomly generated names with numbers or randomized letters. Suspicious accounts, such as bots, often follow many other profiles, but have very few of their own followers. An account that is following thousands of other people but only has a handful of profiles following them might be the sign of a fake account.

• Content and Activity

Check the kinds of posts published on the social media account to see if they match the business or person or if it seems out of character. The absence of published posts can be a sign of a fake account.

Look at the kinds of comments the account leaves on other people’s posts. If they leave the same (or similar) comments asking people to be friends or to invest money or subscribe to a sketchy channel, it’s probably a fake account.

Staying Safe in the Comments

Fraudsters often target users through comments and responses on social media. They may respond to a comment on a post with a message that expresses admiration for a person’s profile and ask to be added as a friend. Comments promising a way to get rich quickly or deals that seem too good to be true are also used.

Here are things to check if a profile is claiming to be Enterprise Bank (or another financial institution or business) and is reaching out to you on a comment you made on a post.

ALWAYS click on the profile that is messaging you/responding to your comment to check if the account is real. (Check for some of the signs noted in the section above.)

•      Author Mark

On platforms like Facebook, legitimate comments and responses from the real Enterprise Bank account will have an author mark to distinguish them from spoof accounts.

•      Poor Grammar

Legitimate businesses maintain professional communication. Watch for incorrect or unprofessional grammar. The use of slurs, curse words, or weird slang can give away the illegitimacy of a fake account.

•      Spam Messages

Check other comments to see if a fake Enterprise Bank account is responding to other victims. For example, Enterprise Bank would NOT respond to every single comment on a post saying that they were chosen as a winner.

•      Identity or Payment Requests

Reputable organizations and financial institutions, including Enterprise Bank, will never ask you to share personal information, security codes, passwords, or bank card information via email or social media.

If you still can’t be sure if an account is genuine or fake, you can always contact companies and organizations on a trusted channel to check if their accounts or messages are legitimate.

The information contained in this article should not be construed as financial, legal, or tax advice, and may not be reflective of terms and features currently offered by Enterprise Bank. Please contact us for details on current product offerings and rates.

If you think you are the victim of fraud related to your account with Enterprise Bank, please contact the Bank’s Call Center at 978-459-9000 or toll-free at 877-671-2265. For additional information on how to protect your accounts, visit https://www.enterprisebanking.com/security.