Fake profiles, 1:1 copies and the dangers of identity theft on Facebook are current and realistic.

Not only do we at mimikama warn about identity theft on Facebook, but also the State Criminal Police Office and the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center !

Around 31 million consumers in Germany use Facebook to stay in touch with their friends and families. This also makes the platform interesting for fraudsters.

One of the most common scams is identity theft: crooks copy Facebook profiles and can cause massive harm to unsuspecting victims. The Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center and the State Criminal Police Office provide tips on how to protect yourself from this scam.

“The fraudsters create a second profile that is identical to the victim’s except for the profile photo. Then they send a friend request to all contacts from the real profile and give flimsy reasons why they created a new Facebook page. Anyone who accepts this friend request gives the perpetrators access to all information that is not actually publicly available."

says Barbara Steinhöfel, consultant for telecommunications and digital at the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center.

This is followed by a perfidious scam: you are contacted by the supposed friend and asked for your current cell phone number under some pretext. Without arousing suspicion, many friends follow the request and send their number. The fraudster uses this number to go on a shopping spree, for example for online games. However, in order to complete the purchase, he needs a code - which is automatically sent to the victim's cell phone as an SMS. The scammer then asks for this code to be passed on to them.

Reason: He actually had the code sent to a friend's cell phone, but he lost his cell phone. But the code is urgently needed.

If you comply with this request, the cell phone owner will certainly be annoyed with the next cell phone bill: the amounts sometimes amount to several hundred euros.

Anyone who thinks they can simply report their fake “twin” is wrong: those affected usually cannot find the fraudster profiles because the perpetrators block the real profile owner. Anyone who has fallen for the scam should report it to the police immediately. If you have filed a report, you can prove that you are aware of the identity theft and have responded to it - and can therefore better defend yourself against possible claims.

The most important tips and information from the State Criminal Police Office and consumer advice center in brief:

  • The less information and images Facebook users publicly reveal about themselves, the fewer opportunities perpetrators have to imitate the profile.
  • The friends list should be invisible to the public: The friends list should be changed from “publicly visible” to “friends” or even better to “only me”.
  • Never accept friend requests without checking. If you suspect anything, contact your friend using other means of communication.
  • Fake profiles should be reported to Facebook immediately.
  • Never pass on TANs or codes via Facebook Messenger or other chat programs.


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )