The Battle Against Fake Accounts and Imposters

November 3, 2020
CYBER5

The Battle Against Fake Accounts and Imposters- How to Deal with Catfish

As many of you know, “catfish” and fake accounts are an extremely big problem on social media and these people affect the members of our industry in many ways.

The Problem with Fake Accounts

* Fake Accounts.

These may be set up by bots or actual people who sign up pretending to be performers in the industry. They make it difficult to track themselves by hiding their IP addresses. They also make multiple accounts with names that are very similar to the performers' social media or stage name.

* Fake Engagement

This means that the imposter is participating with fans through reposting stolen photos and content. They are pretending to act as the performer by engaging in others posts with likes, comments, and following. They may even buy followers to show credibility.

“Catfish” within the industry...People Pretending to be Agents, Producers, Photographers, Talent

*Fake Work Offers

This happens when someone contacts you through social media, job boards, website posting, etc. regarding adult industry employment. Many times these offers seem TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.

How this Affects Our Industry

* Fans are being Scammed

These “catfish” accounts are pretending to be performers to scam fans out of money by offering to meet them and selling them fake content or merchandise. This is causing fans to lose money thereby accusing the performer of dishonest acts when it was actually nothing to do with them. Of course, the fans end up losing faith in the performers because of these criminals.

* Performers “real” accounts/ Shadowbanned-Shut Down

Performers are losing their real accounts due to imposters reporting them for false violations while the fake accounts are still active. The real accounts are also shadow banned while the fake accounts are coming up in search engines which means fans do not know what accounts are real or fake.

* Performers are being scammed by “catfish”

When “catfish” pretend to be actual industry workers, performers are put in danger since they are being deceived by someone who likely has malicious intent. There are several ways this can happen. The scammer will offer large amounts of money for shoots, ask you to send money to book a shoot or pay for costume/makeup, say it is an “audition”, offer work with a “Big Name” company, or make you feel as if you have a chance at a “Once in a Lifetime” opportunity. Their intentions can be to scam you out of money, money laundering, slander, and even sexual assault/rape.

What Can We Do to Avoid Fake Accounts, Imposters, and “Catfish”

Fake accounts and “CatFish” are one of the internet’s biggest challenges. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of ways to completely avoid them at this time, however, there is advice so that you do not get caught in their web of deceit.

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*Label your “Official Accounts” on ALL your Social Media

Make sure that you have an “Official” account under each of your social media accounts. ALWAYS use the same accounts as your official. Many use sites like Linktree & Hubzter to list their official Links so that their fans know what their official links are. Most performers have a “Backup Account” just in case you lose your official account.

*Report and Block ALL Fake Accounts

As soon as you notice ANY fake accounts on social media either you find or that you may be notified of by your fans, REPORT them to the appropriate social media application and BLOCK them. This will STOP them from building a following and from then being able to follow you.

*WATERMARK ALL your PHOTOS/CONTENT

Imposters love stealing photos and content that they can repost as their own. The easiest way that you can stop them is to WATERMARK ALL your CONTENT. There are several different watermark applications that make it easy for you to put your name/logo on your content.

*COMMUNICATE with FANS what you OFFER and DO NOT OFFER

“Catfish” like to scam fans into buying fake merchandise or offer “meet ups” that are false. Sadly, there are many times that our fans do not know that they are not talking to us. It is VERY IMPORTANT to communicate to your fans what types of services you offer and what types of merchandise you sell so that fans will know if/when they are being scammed. Even though we CANNOT STOP the “Catfish”, we can do as much as possible to let our fans know that we are not the ones causing these issues.

*KNOW WHO YOU ARE WORKING FOR

This is something as a mentor I have stressed several times and for several reasons. Not only is it important to know who you are working with so that you will have a satisfying experience while performing but it is extremely important BEFORE you even get the job. Imposters WILL PRETEND TO BE agents, producers, talent, casting scout, directors, company representatives, etc. to take advantage of NEW TALENT. BE AWARE that you MUST KNOW who you are working for. DO YOUR RESEARCH. If you are contacted by someone representing a company and you do not know them personally, then contact the company DIRECTLY. DO NOT TAKE THEIR WORD FOR IT!!! There are many times that “catfish” will have malicious intent and pretend to be someone they are not. The best way to avoid a scam is to INVESTIGATE. Lastly, DO NOT hesitate to ask someone to FACETIME or SKYPE with you to CONFIRM who they are. (This normally deters the fakes from continuing as they do not like to show themselves)