Meta won’t remove phony Instagram accounts used for blatant catfishing

It is hardly unusual for imposters and romance con artists to use social media to conpeople&nbsp.

However, the issue appears to have gotten much worse on Instagram over the past year, with its parent company Meta failing miserably to combat fake profiles even when there are enough indications that a profile is misusing someone else’s identity and photos.

In the course of our investigation, BleepingComputer found instances where reports andnbsp—fake profiles that pretended to be an internet personality or an online public figure—were dismissed after being processed, at least in part, by what seemed like an automated decision-making system. We were even more shocked to learn that the fake profiles in question were still present on the platform even after we appealed the decision.

Instagram: a haven for con artists

I naturally responded when I saw a story earlier this week in my Instagram&nbsp feed that featured an Instagram selfie of an attractive man working out at the gym.

A discussion then ensued. This man, named” Santiago Scott,” who was one of my followers, informed me that he is from Brazil, based in Spain, and is searching for something significant.

My skepticism but curiosity, however, caused me to look up andnbsp, the dashing and ‘ Santiago Scott,’ the man behind the handle, and then @91. Santoscott, before the conversation could delve into deeper topics.

While the name did n’t turn up anything noteworthy, a quick Google Lens reverse-image search led me to an Instagram account with close to 18, 000 followers called Thiago Qualhato on Twitter. &nbsp,

It turns out that Thiago, the real man behind the photos andnbsp, is based in Brazil, speaks mostly Portuguese rather than English, and joined the platform in 2013, according to his Instagram profile. Compare this to” Santiago Scott’s” account, which was made public in 2022 and had a username that had been changed at least seven times.

Additionally, every image or reel on” Santiago Scott’s” profile was only recently posted, which is a strong indication of catfishing.

It is actually possible for someone to create two profiles for a variety of reasons, including to isolate their professional social media presence from&nbsp, one, and their personal social network presence. &nbsp, I definitely left a note for Thiago.

Naturally, &nbsp, Thiago responded to me by saying,” Denuncie pra mim.” please. ” Ele me bloqueou!” ( Report it, please. He has blocked me, I’m afraid.

Wasting&nbsp, no time, I immediately reported Instagram and properly flagged the account as impersonating @thiago_qualhato. A short while later, I received a response.

Instagram made the decision to delete the fake account after receiving a review that seemed to be made possible, at least in part, by “technology,” given the request’s relatively quick turnaround time.

” To process reports and find content that violates our Community Guidelines, we combine technology and human reviewers.” Read the response to find out why we did n’t remove the content you reported in this instance.

Even after appealing the decision&nbsp and asking for a follow-up review ( likely from an individual ), the ruling persisted.

BleepingComputer contacted Meta’s communications andnbsp, team with questions, and mentioned this case and the nBSP well in advance of publication, but we received no response.

A scheme to market blue ticks?

On Instagram, incidents like these happen far too frequently.

In particular, the imposters&nbsp to target real-life profiles of desirable public figures, uniformed service members ( such as soldiers and police officers ), influencers, and adult content producers.

These imposters then start to “follow” the real account’s followers in an effort to gain more followers and establish themselves as reliable &nbsp on the platform, all the while blocking the legitimate profile whose images they are misusing. The possibility of interacting with and being seen by the real user is eliminated by this&nbsp.

Author Jendella Benson from the UK took to X ( previously Twitter ) last year to express her annoyance with Instagram’s refusal to take down imposters lifting&nbsp, her photos.

According to Benson,” Instagram wo n’t delete a catfish account that uses my pictures.”

They are either padding their numbers by not acting on spam or fake accounts, or they are trying to force me to purchase a blue tick in the hopes that it will provide more protection. most likely both. bozos.

Early in 2023, Meta followed with its” Meta Verified” &nbsp service, which cost between$ 11.99 and$ 14.99, shortly after X launched a paid verification program that sold the highly sought-after blue ticks in exchange for monthly payment.

The monthly fee allows users like nbsp, creators, and companies to verify their Facebook and Instagram accounts and show a blue checkmark on their profiles. Additionally, the service asserts to offer “proactive account protection” against impersonation and &nbsp.

That still raises the question: Should a creator’s refusal to sign up for paid services be compared to&nbsp being impersonated?

Another user on X wrote,” It’s annoying when Instagram wo n’t delete my catfish accounts.”

I have a f**kton of catfish, especially on Instagram because they are run by avaricious moron who wo n’t pay for simple things like people to moderate or delete accounts.

— July 31, 2023, Chelle Silverstein (@Chellelovesu )

Similar tales are also not uncommon:

The images of Nando Malachovski, U.S., are being used by scammers. S military for the #romancefraud campaign. He has a sizable Instagram following and an absurdly large number of fakes that people wo n’t take down on @facebookapp and @tiktok_us. Please be aware of the picture of #catfish#onlinefraud#scammers ( the platforms as well ). PxbBqRArcn on Twitter— April 21, 2021, Anna Rowe ( @AnnaRowe123 )

Ironically, if you pay the monthly fee and go through the verification procedure with a valid ID, there is no guarantee that your account wo n’t be suspended in the future should enough people suspect that you are the imposter.

So you’re disabling my Instagram account because you guys claim I’m not me? I completed the verification procedure in full and paid to ensure that people recognized me from the fictitious accounts. I presented my ID, and it was approved. Since like 2014, I’ve had my account. 9EMyF4cp0V on twitter.comSeptember 15, 2023, Persephanii Aka ThickYonce

Additionally, despite the fact that we have previously reported on&nbsp, sexual harassers, crypto scammers, and identity thieves thriving on Instagram, it seems insufficient to simply report such accounts.

How can we deal with it?

While the majority of the decision is made by users, there are a number of precautions that users can take to protect themselves, their photos, and other users in the community in Meta’s court on this one.

• Think about using your actual social media handle to watermark your photos. The watermark could still be cropped out or removed by a forger, but it might act as deterrent.
   
• Refrain from accepting follow requests from profiles that appear suspicious, are too “new,” have few or no posts and followers, or otherwise have dubious authenticity for private accounts. In the event that the new follower ends up cloning your profile, adding more followers comes with a risk of being impersonated.
   
• Report fake accounts using the Instagram&nbsp app. If that does n’t work ( as it did in this instance ), a user suggests using the web form as an alternative.
   
• You might still be able to report the imposter’s account even if they have blocked you by going to their profile in the Incognito mode of your web browser ( or just by clicking after&nbsp, you’ve logged out of Instagram account ).
   
• Your intellectual property, including your photos, reels, and posts, is still in your possession under copyright. In some circumstances, it might be worthwhile to contact Instagram’s legal team to report a case of copyright infringement if the usual reporting channels produce no results.
   
• Using services like Google Lens, TinEye, and PimEyes, a little bit of googling and reverse image searching can help you quickly identify impersonators.
   
• Until you are certain that the person on the other end of the line is who they claim to be, refrain from sharing your private photos, nbsp, or other details.

By taking these precautions, you can hopefully deter fraudsters and keep everyone and you safe on social media.