Step-by-step instructions on how to figure out who is behind an Instagram profile.
How to tell whether an Instagram account is fake
Do you have reason to believe that some of the Instagram profiles of people who have contacted you on this social media platform are fake? So, let me tell you some tips on how to figure out who is behind an Instagram account.
Check the details in your profile.
Check the details of your profile. It’s one of the first steps to figuring out who’s behind an Instagram account. In general, people that create bogus profiles only fill in the blanks with public information.
Some people haven’t filled out their profile bios, haven’t added any content, and don’t even have a profile photo.
But be careful not to mix up public and private Instagram accounts. They’re not like the rest. Some users may have created a private profile on Instagram to protect their privacy; this does not necessarily mean that it is a phony profile; the user may simply have elected not to share information that is personal to him with anyone.
Another piece of advice I’d like to provide you is to try to obtain information on the reputation of the sites in question if there are links to them on the Internet (you can do a search in Google or places like WOT).
Check for mentions and comments.
Consult comments and mentions as another method for determining who is hidden behind an Instagram profile. Users leave “crumbs” on the social network in the form of comments and mentions. It is feasible to deduce the behavior of other Instagram subscribers from comments and mentions, and to derive some information about an account’s validity from these “clues.”
In other circumstances, you may not be able to determine a profile’s identity by looking at comments and mentions for a simple reason: some people who create fake profiles are cautious not to do any actions that could raise suspicion. Those that engage in this type of preventative conduct typically try to “spy” on registered Instagram users to act in the shadows.
Look over your direct messages.
Checking direct messages is one of the simplest ways to see if a spammer or, in any event, a phony is lurking behind an Instagram profile.
If a user bombards you with messages with links and offers to buy whatever fantastic goods, he is a spammer or, worse, a true fraudster. Stay away from this and block the offending user right away.
When checking your account’s messages, pay special attention to those that beg you to share sensitive information, such as images or videos. Typically, these users attempt to acquire confidence over time, maybe by appearing to know some of the victim’s friends and then attempt to steal the information they seek after successfully ingratiating themselves with the victim.
Look at the list of people who have followed you.
Another technique to figure out who is behind an Instagram profile is to look at the list of followers. When looking at a “suspect” account’s list of followers, you should consider at least two factors: the number of followers and persons followed, as well as their “origin.”
Let’s assume a user has thousands of followers: you might assume they’re real at first sight, but once you view the list of followers, you’ll be able to change your mind when you find that the individuals that follow the profile in question have no relation to one another (for example, they may come from different nationalities).
In this instance, you are most certainly dealing with the profile of a spammer who has artificially purchased followers to appear more genuine.
If, on the other hand, a person has a small number of followers (or none at all), the profile you’re looking at could have been set up to spy on other users, perhaps through Direct messaging (as I have already explained some of the previous paragraphs).
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Paying attention to the origin of the followers (if any) is also necessary for this scenario to track the Instagram profile’s identification. You should be suspicious if practically all of the users that follow the suspicious profile are from other countries, despite the user having a Spanish name and/or claiming to be one.
Examine the provenance of the photographs that have been published.
Checking the origin of published photographs is a clever approach to figure out who is behind an Instagram profile. If you come across a fake profile, the user in question has likely uploaded photos from the Internet with the purpose to deceive you. Are you unsure how to proceed in this situation? Doing a quick search in a search engine is simple (eg. Google ).
To be more exact, you can search by image and quickly locate the source from which the photo was ultimately obtained. To continue with this verification, save the images whose provenance you want on the check to your phone or computer (You can download both the published photos and those present in the stories created by the suspicious user).
Then, to begin your ‘investigations,’ go to your preferred search engine and use the picture search option.
Once you’ve gotten your hands on the search results, examine them to see if you’re looking at a legitimate Instagram profile or a fake one: if the photographs come from the user’s website or social media accounts, you’re looking at a legitimate profile; otherwise, you’re looking at a fake one.
Make sure your account is verified.
Do you wish to know if an account (ostensibly) belonging to a public figure is genuine or not? It’s no problem. A blue symbol () appears next to official accounts of public personalities on Instagram.
If a public figure’s account does not contain the symbol in question, it has not been verified by Instagram and is therefore quite likely to be a fake profile. Avoid this at all costs; you’re most likely a spammer attempting to attract attention by offering to sell your products or services.
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Who is the person behind an Instagram account?
As I indicated at the outset, even if you follow the instructions in this article, you will never be able to tell for sure who owns an account (except verified profiles).
The only way to find out who owns a profile is to ask the user (in the hopes that they will be truthful about their identity!).
Because a spammer or fraudster is unlikely to admit who they are, it’s quite unlikely that you’ll be able to determine the genuine identity of the individual in question.
However, thanks to the advice I gave you in previous chapters, you can at least recognize when you’re in the presence of a user you should avoid and take the necessary precautions to protect yourself (for example, you can block and/or report the user in question by pressing the button… in the upper right and selecting the appropriate item from the menu that appears).