Instagram has completed 12 years in the social media industry and has become people’s favourite instant messaging platform. The transformation Instagram has gone through is undoubtedly spectacular. From just being a nominal platform used for posting pictures to becoming a medium of earning for creators this application has created a new world. In today’s date, many people are getting viral on Instagram just by creating good quality reels on trending songs. Those who get popular soon are trolled by negative audiences through genuine or fake profiles.

This increase in fake profiles has led to cybercrime, extortion, blackmailing, impersonation, etc. Generally, fake profiles are created in the name of famous social media influencers, and celebrities to fool the audience. Instagram has taken strict action to prohibit such accounts and constantly looks into banning fake profiles. Apart from this, they have also been removing fake followers, likes, and comments from accounts that purchase followers via bots or other third-party applications. However, still there are many fake accounts on Instagram and at times people fail to identify one. Well, knowing the seriousness of this topic we have come up with this article where we’ll be explaining how to find an Instagram fake account easily.

Also Read: See Who Unfollowed You on Instagram: Social Media Secret Trick

What Is Instagram Fake Account?

As we discussed above, Instagram fake accounts are those which are created using someone else’s identity, i.e., name, image, occupation, etc. These accounts are also considered ‘Imposter Accounts’ as imposter means pretending to be someone else and deceiving people using a fake identity. Creating a fake account is a crime but people who have bad intentions make one. There’s nothing good about creating a fake account on Instagram. Anyone who makes one and is caught by Instagram violating the guidelines is banned by Instagram. Once banned, that individual can not restore their account nor can create a new account using the previous name, phone number, email address and username.

What Makes People Create Fake Accounts On Instagram?

We cannot count on one reason why people create fake accounts on social media platforms as there are endless reasons. Someone creates a fake account to prank their friends and later deletes it whereas the majority of the people who get into this activity create one to cheat people for money. An incident like this happened with Facebook users in the past where fake accounts who impersonated themselves as ‘Meta Ads’ sent links to users stating that they won’t be able to use their account due to security issues and needed to download a tool if they want to continue using their account. Those users who tapped on those links lost their data and money too. Henceforth, it’s extremely important to be very cautious while using social networking applications in today’s digitalized era. By now, you know that ‘Impersonation’ is one such major reason why people make fake accounts, however there are a few more which we have listed below.

• Staying Anonymous: Not everyone hails from an open family and that’s the reason some people create social media profiles with fake usernames so that their parents or relatives don’t identify them. A few celebrities like Ranbir Kapoor have also created an anonymous profile with a fake username to stay away from the limelight. Some celebrities prefer being anonymous or less active on social media that’s why they create fake profiles. Now if a profile is created for this reason then it’s somewhere okay until not indulged in unfair practices.
• Trapping Opposite Gender Through Catfishing: Meeting someone on social media and getting into a relationship with them has become common now. However, this has negative consequences too where sometimes men/women trap the other person with their sweet words and then scam them for money secretly. This is also known as ‘Catfishing’ where generally imposters seek attention or money from the opposite person.
• Brainwashing Against Own Religion: Terrorists find financially weak people and college students through social media and then brainwash them completely to convert their religion. People are also told that they’ll get good life if they convert their religion which is not true because everything in life can be achieved by hard work only.
• To Steal Personal Details: Online scams for providing work, and part-time job opportunities are actively run on Instagram fake accounts where stories and posts are posted and those who comment on these posts receive a link for filling up a form. As soon the user taps on it, their data and money is extracted from their device. People generally indulge in such practices only for getting money.
• For Bullying & Discrimination: Many people create fake accounts to take revenge by bullying or harassing a person on social media. Celebrities are often trolled by netizens and receive hate comments on their posts for their weight, makeup, movies, appearance, etc. If a user is commenting mean comments on someone’s profile, is private and doesn’t have an original profile picture then it’s a fake account.

Also Read: Unmask The Door Behind Anonymous Questions Instagram Feature

How To Locate Instagram Fake Account?

As an Instagram user, you should know about the ‘Green Flags’ to spot a fake Instagram account. Here are some major indicators to identify a malicious instagram account holder.

1. More Followers Than Following: If an account’s following count is more than the follower count then it means that it’s a fake Instagram account and is created to trick or fraud people. Such accounts are created for spying or keeping track of competitors, enemies, spouse, crush, etc. This picture has another side also which is the skeptical followers ratio. If you see a large follower count and less following count then it means that followers are purchased through a third-party application. By increasing the followers through illegal means imposters try to portray their account as genuine to the audience. So if anywhere you find something fishy in the follower-following ratio then it’s hinting at a fake account.
2. Check About Profile, Picture & Posts: No such tool is till now invented for Instagram fake account finder and you have to opt for these manual methods to find that clown in the crowd. The first hint to identify a fake account is to check its Instagram bio, profile picture, and number of posts. If the bio seems weird, copied and has no information mentioned about the person like their full name, or interests then it’s a fake profile. Secondly, if you see a blank profile picture, a celebrity image, or another cartoonist image that doesn’t seem genuine then the profile is fake. Such accounts are also private and tend to post very less.
3. Sends Spam Promotional Messages: Fake accounts ask people to perform a simple activity like reviewing, liking, or commenting on a post in exchange for gifts. Those who get tricked, receive a DM with a link and on clicking on the link get trapped by the scammers who steal their entire data & savings in one go. Promotion messages are like: I’m offering a FREE Luxury Makeup Kit to the first 50 people who like my post through this link’ which are sent in bulk to all users who click on that link. If any day you receive such messages then beware that it’s fraud.
4. Go Through Images, Stories, and Videos: You can know a lot about an Instagram profile just by checking what they post on their account, stories. If they are posted in bulk and don’t exhibit a human face then it’s a fake account. Such account holders mostly use stock images from Google, Freepik, Canva and then post them on their profile. So, if a fake account is private and posts random stock images it’s quite easy to say that it’s a fake account.
5. Connect With Account Owner: Talking with someone is the root to get the truth revealed out. As there’s no third-party tool for Instagram fake account finder, this and all the other tricks mentioned above can help you track one. If you receive a random friend request and then think that it’s fake then simply drop them a message and start a basic conversation with them. If they respond politely and then it’s fine but if they diverge the topic, respond late and it’s obvious that they’re pretending to be someone else.

Also Read: Reasons & Fixes For Picuki Error

Solution To Remove Fraud Instagram Account

To eliminate a fake account from Instagram or any other platform you have to ‘Report’ it and after a thorough check by authorities, it’ll be removed from the app. Also, if multiple people report a fake account in a day then that account is likely to get deleted quickly by the authorities. On Instagram also, the procedure is the same you have to report an account if you think that’s fake and is trying to impersonate you. You can also ask your friends and relatives to report the account as well. The steps to report an Instagram account is mentioned below. Follow the steps accurately to report an account.

• Step 1: Open your Instagram account
• Step 2: Type the username in the search bar whose account you want to report or block
• Step 3: Click on that profile from the results
• Step 4: Tap on the three horizontal dots displayed in the upper screen area
• Step 5: Choose ‘Report’ > Something about this account > They are pretending to be someone else
• Step 6: Click on the suitable option which you think they’re impersonating as and then tap on the ‘Submit Report’ option.

In addition, you can also report a post, comment, or reel on Instagram or block the user if you think that their action is spreading hate, negativity, and violence. As an Instagram user, you should also be cautious of what you’re commenting and posting on social media platforms because if found guilty then sometimes you might receive a ‘We restrict certain activity to protect our community’ message from Instagram.

Conclusion

With time, technology and applications have been molded into new roles according to users interests. All the social media apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter have introduced latest features to garner users attention which has turned out to give positive results. However, with an increase in users, there’s an increase in fake profiles too because the crowd has exceeded on Instagram. Now being a responsible user it’s your responsibility to be aware and stay far from the reach of these fraud profiles. Don’t tap on suspicious links which you receive from unknown profiles as it leads to phishing and provides the other person access to your Instagram account. Apart from this people sometimes also lose their other personal details and hard-earned money which is saddening. So if you ever encounter a fake account straightaway block or report it.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q) Is it possible to trace fake Instagram accounts?

Ans: Only cyber police can locate fake accounts through the IP address tracked by Instagram. This information is shared by Instagram with police officials, cyber teams, and law enforcement agencies during the criminal investigation which requires proof and evidence.

Q) How many fake accounts can be created at once?

Ans: There’s no count for creating a fake Instagram account. An imposter can create multiple fake accounts using different email address and phone numbers. Creating a fake email address is as easy as creating a fake Instagram account but getting a new registered number can be a bit difficult due to documentation purposes.