How To Spot If Someone Online Isn't Who They Say They Are

How To Spot If Someone Online Isn't Who They Say They Are

It is without a doubt one of the scariest things online, is your BFF Katie actually a fifty-three-year-old man living in his mom's basement? Most teens just take the risk and hope and pray that it never happens to them but is there a way you can spot if someone online isn't who they say they are? Even if it isn't a fifty-three-year-old guy living in a basement, are there any warning signs to look for in general? 

Actually, there are a few basic things to look out for! If you notice any of these warning signs in someone you know online, that's your cue to stay FAR away!

Number One! They use pictures of an online model or someone on Instagram and claim it's them. 

How can you tell? Step 1: On a Google or Google Chrome browser go to the image they posted of "themself" on their social media page. (This strategy will work regardless of the website they're on.) Double click or long press the image. Tap or click "Search Google for this image".

 (Note: If there is too much text or added elements around the image or if the image is unclear this may not work. A possible way around this is to download or screenshot their post and crop out any added text, then reshare it.)

Step 2: Look through the results and see if you can find anything about who that person is.

Step 3: After you have a name, Google search it. BAM! Looks like Sasha isn't really Sasha at all...

Number Two! Ask them to take a specific photo of themself. It can be your name, something you told them to draw, or a word you made up taped to their forehead! Basically, anything they could not have possibly found online! If they refuse to take the picture for ANY reason that is an IMMEDIATE red flag! Some of the common excuses are: 

• "I dropped my phone, so the camera doesn't work"
• "Can't. My storage space is full"
• and the infamous... "Don't you trust me???" No Sasha, we don't...

Number Three! Their life stories. As you get to know someone online, over time you start to share your personal experiences with that person. When the person in question tells you things about them, encourage them to give as much detail as possible (without sounding like a weirdo yourself) so that you can document what they say and look for inconsistencies or story changes over time. A clever way to do this is a few weeks or months after they tell you a story repeat it back to them with one little detail switched out. If they don't correct it, that's a RED FLAG!

Number Four! Their other social media accounts. Let's say you find someone on a little known social media site claiming to be Maddie Ziegler. You chat with them, you laugh with them and everything seems legitimate. How can you tell if it's really Maddie Ziegler? Ask them to like one of your posts from their Instagram page or comment on one of your posts. If they do it, CONGRATULATIONS! You just met the official Maddie Ziegler! If they don't, (for any reason) they're lying. But, hey! Maybe you will get to meet Maddie in real life anyway someday! 

Number Five! Their timezone! Not a lot of teenagers know this, but simply telling someone what time it is where you are narrows down the possible places where you live. So let's say "Megan" lives in Kentucky and you live in California. Where you live it is 4:21pm. You ask Megan what time it is where she lives and she says 5:21pm. That's a BIG red flag! Why? because if Megan was actually in Kentucky, she'd know it was 7:21pm! Not 5:21! 

The time differences are, for example, 3:30 in Hawaii, 4:30 in Alaska, 5:30 Pacific Time, 6:30 Mountain Time, 7:30 Central Time, 8:30 Eastern Time.

If you have any other tips on how to spot if someone online isn't who they claim to be, leave them in the comments below! Make sure you never post personal information about yourself online and as always play it smart and stay safe! 

Thank you for reading!

- Leila ♡