Fake Followers Scam: All You Need To Know
What is the fake followers and social media scam? What triggered it? How did it start? Who are the accused? Will there be a legal action? Get to know all about this recent scam in the article! Keep reading as this scam exposed the whole entertainment industry!
What are fake followers?
Fake followers are also called as bots. People pay money to the dealer in order to gain these fake followers. A greater number of followers will not only make your profile famous but also make it a marketing hub for several brands. Brands often approach people with a large following for promoting their products. And what do they get in return for these promotions and advertisements?! The answer is simple! They get money! They’re paid per view….so the more the view, the more the money!
Now getting fake followers was quite cheap! You could get 500 Instagram likes for Rs 250, and 1,000 Twitter followers for Rs 1,449! For a not-so-popular person, this could be a pretty good offer to get famous! This has been going on for quite some time now. Until recently when it unearthed! Names of several celebrities and stars have come up. Keep on reading for more!
What led the police to this fraud?
Apparently, everyone is an influencer now! Ever wondered how?! We are always in search of verified profiles on Instagram and Twitter! We want to follow the authentic, the real celebrity and their moves. But some people take advantage of this and create false verified profiles! Hard to believe but it’s true! Apparently, verified profiles were being sold! And this is what started the investigation on the fake followers and social media scam.
The investigation was triggered by a Singer Bhoomi Trivedi. She approached the Police with a complaint regarding a fake social media account that was impersonating her. Some of her industry friends and followers informed that they received a message from a PR agency. The agency claimed they had got her Instagram account verified for ₹4000! Also, a few of her followers and friends had also fallen for the scam.
The police took the complaint seriously and started to investigate. Soon they found the culprit. But this was just the beginning of the most sensational scam! Read on to find more about the culprit!
The culprits
It usually takes a lot of time to find such criminals! (Thanks to the population of India!) However, a team lead by Sachin Vaze under the guidance of DCP Nandkumar Thakur were able to get their hands on the criminal quite soon.
According to reports, the crime branch’s Central Intelligence Unit has arrested Abhishek Davade from Kurla, Mumbai. The police were able to track him through his social media activities. It has further been revealed that he works for a website called followerskart.com. It uses automated software (bots) to provide fraudulent engagement on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.
Another accused, Kashif Mansoor, a civil engineer, was arrested for allegedly selling fake followers. According to the Mumbai Police, Mansoor has sold 2.3 crores fake followers so far! The investigation is still going on.
They would surely be regretting his failure as entrepreneurs. However, before his arrest, he did earn a lot of money! Names of several celebrities and tik tok users have come to surface. Read on to know more about who got their success using fake followers!
What is the extent of the fake followers scam?
Abhishek Davade didn’t work for a chhoti-moti website! This website is linked to a larger international racket involving cores of fake followers, profiles, views, comments, and likes! (Bollywood and cricket are together in scams too!) Reports suggest that several celebrities, artists, models, and more had used these services.
Davade had created more than five lakh fake followers for a total of 176 Profiles on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, etc! Out of these 176, 16 have confessed using the means to get fake followers. The list of confessions also includes a director and a makeup artist! The names are a secret(of course!) But guess who was the Badshah of all?!!!
Bollywood- followers or fake bots?
The DJ Wala Babu confessed paying for fake followers and views. He confessed to paying a whopping ₹72 lakh for 7.2 core views on YouTube! All to set a world record for his song ‘Pagal Hai’. He claimed to have received 75 million views in just 24 hrs! (So much for fame and success!)
Furthermore, The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) was way ahead than police! They gave out sensational data last year but didn’t get the required action. They had claimed that Bollywood actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Deepika Padukone are among the 10 celebrities who have maximum numbers of ‘bots’ on Instagram!
In addition, with 58 per cent of fake Instagram followers, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was at the top of the list!
Based on these revelations, the Mumbai police decided to broaden their investigation. And guess what they found?! There were several such companies that provided fake followers! There are at least a hundred of such websites in India! Out of these, the crime branch has identified fifty-four until now.
What are the consequences for the culprits of the fake followers scam?
There will be consequences for the culprits for creating fake account of Bhoomi Trivedi. This is a clear case of impersonating. But sadly, there is no such law against providing fake followers in India.
A sessions court is likely to decide if providing fake engagement on social media will be accounted for as an offense. But presently, there is no specific law in India to deal with such cases involving buying, selling, or providing fraudulent engagement on social media platforms.
The global scenario
It will be wrong of us to miss the global aspect. These scams are not only in India but also in many other countries. A Swedish start-up A Good Company and analytics firm HypeAuditor have given some eye-opening results in their research.
The research was done among 1.84 million Instagram accounts across 82 countries. It was found that the top three markets with the largest numbers of fake accounts were the United States (49 million), Brazil (27 million), and India (16 million).
How do the social media platforms react on fake followers?
Such revelations are always a kaala dhabba on the media platforms. Inspite of their claims regarding security, such incidents need to be taken care of. These media platforms have been dealing with such cases since a long time.
In the past, social media platforms like Instagram have deleted accounts that they suspected were using third-party apps to increase their follower count. Such a purge in February 2019 resulted in a dip of followers for many celebs.
Akshar Pathak, Srishti Dixit, and Mallika Dua were few of the prominent names that lost thousands of followers. Several others reported losing following too. This shows that such scams have existed way before poor Bhoomi got caught in. And we think it’s high time to make this a punishable offence.
Concludingly, we all are engrossed in the virtual world of social media. But it shouldn’t push you to such lengths. Hard work with ethics always gather people’s attention. If you have payed for followers, be honest and let them go. Furthermore, if you have discovered your fake profiles, or have been facing any bullying, blackmailing, report and complain to the police. If one complain can reveal such a big scam, yours can help too! As a responsible citizen, it’s our duty to report and fight against the wrong.
Social media is a double edged sword. So let’s use it to promote positivity and quality content. Stay away from such scams and educate others too. If you found this article useful, share it with your friends and family. Also, let us know in the comments below if you want more such articles!
Till then, be wise and stay safe from scams!
