Be safe online! - the rise of fake celebrity social media accounts

Fake Social Media Accounts

Police are becoming increasingly concerned that people are setting up fake social media accounts and using them to talk to children and young people inappropriately (i.e. for grooming, extortion, etc). This is particularly happening through increasingly popular social media apps such as Musical.ly

For more information see this report from the BBC:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-39670673

The following podcast (particularly the first section) also goes into more details and is useful for anyone studying or involved with safeguarding children or young people.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04zvqsq

The companies which own these social media platforms are under increasing pressure to do more to stop this sort of activity (along with other content linked to criminal activity), but the best thing to do is to be on your guard and always do what you can to check who is contacting you.

Public domain image of social media apps from www.pixabay.com

How can I know whether a social media account is genuine?

Facebook and Twitter use a blue badge to verify accounts belonging to celebrities. Facebook also use a gray badge for organisations. However, these accounts are often targets for hacking too so be very suspicious if one of them messages you directly (most will not).

To find a genuine account, you could go to the official website for that artist, for example, and from there you should be able to see links to their twitter feed or Instagram account.

New guidelines by the Crown Prosecution Service. 

New guidelines (as reported in the Daily Telegraph) are being prepared which could make creating fake social media accounts a criminal offence where these are used for revenge or to cause harassment, for example. Therefore, everyone needs to be aware of their behaviour online.

Is what you are planning to publish online harmful to someone else (whether you think they deserve it or not)?

Would you like the same done to you? - and how would it make you feel?

The College does not tolerate  bullying of any kind and students experiencing anything like this can speak to a Safeguarding Officer, their tutor or indeed any member of staff about this if it is happening to them.