6 Different Types of Fake Facebook Accounts

Different Types of Fake Facebook Accounts : Fake Facebook Accounts are accounts people establish that aren’t representative of them as a real person. Facebook intends for all of its users to practice some sincerity when identifying themselves. They want to know about the “real you” and not have you use their platform for reasons outside what it’s intended for. Contrary to what Facebook asks people to do, many people use Facebook through accounts that aren’t representative of their true identity; for many reasons people create “Fake Accounts.” This article explains some of the reasons why fake accounts are being used and why Facebook does or doesn’t tolerate them in practice.

Here are the Ten Types of Fake Facebook Accounts:

1. Likebots : These are the types of accounts I have talked about before. They exist mainly just to Like things. They’ll Like Pages, and sometimes Posts too. Often their Likes can be purchased, other times they’re part of a more restricted pool of bots promoting brands or celebrities. These accounts infrequently post but Like a wide number of disconnected things. Clicking on Like Ads is one thing that these bots do, which makes they very annoying. Using advanced targeting is the way to avoid them from clicking on your ads.

2.Spambots : Certain accounts are established with the purpose of spamming Facebook Groups with ads.  The links on their Profile usually give them away. They promote certain things for sale; usually the same thing over and over. These accounts typically have no Friends, but if they do they are other bots. If you see an account that looks like a spambot it could be a real person who is simply using Facebook for business purposes. Interacting with them is the best way to determine if this kind of account is real or not. Spambots will  rarely answer back or engage with actual users.

3.Work Branded Profiles : These are accounts that aren’t really fake per-se, but since they don’t represent someone’s real name they violate the technical definition of real: using your actual, unaltered name. Profiles like this are usually established for innocent reasons. They have names like “Anthony’s Fifth Avenue Pizza Parlor” or “Rosanna What’s Her Face: Identity Verification Engineer“. Facebook doesn’t care much that people do this. It might actually be beneficial for marketing reasons if you don’t mind looking a little unusual, so I won’t advise against it.

4. Trolls : These are people who are out for some lulz and enjoy engaging on many different levels from friendly to satirical to abusive. Although many of them are plainly sadistic, others are truly humorous and add value to Facebook in a way that’s impossible without anonymity. Trolls will often make their Profile identity purposefully extreme to incite RAGE, but the people they often like to tease the most are people whose views are in line with theirs. Trolls engage a lot in Facebook Groups, or by commenting on posts made by Facebook Pages.

5.Kids’ Accounts : Kids under 13 aren’t supposed to have Facebook accounts. Many children, however, do have cellphones to validate Facebook Profiles against. This means lots of kids who aren’t old enough to be using Facebook are intentionally making themselves look like adults. It’s pretty clear from looking at their Friends and the nature of their Posts that they’re children. I strongly advise parents to monitor each and every social media account their children are engaging with, and let them know you’re monitoring it. Kids are kids and will do stupid stuff. It will stay with them for their entire lives, and just because dots aren’t connected today with regards to social profile ownership, doesn’t mean that they won’t be connected in the future. Make sure your kids stay off social media without your supervision.

6.Anonymous Social Activists : Some people have social agendas that they want to enforce via all sorts of media, social media included. It’s common for people with extreme views to hide behind anonymity. This has been true for authors who operated under pen names in the past, and is even more true for social media users today.