Fake friends and followers on social media – and how to spot them

This article explains how scammers leverage fake or bot-driven social media profiles to execute fraud—such as catfishing, DM spam, impersonation, giveaway bait, and crypto schemes—and offers practical tips to spot them (e.g., suspicious bios, follower/following mismatches, erratic posting, lack of verification) along with guidance on reporting fake accounts and improving safety (e.g., private profiles and careful vetting of followers).