Fake Snapchat Account: Who Is Behind?

Here’s how to find out who’s behind a fake Snapchat account:

Honestly, you can’t always find out who runs a fake Snapchat account.

In fact, the majority of fake accounts will probably elude your best attempts to reveal the true identity of the account holder.

But, there are a few things you can try, and if the fake account is limited to your social circle, they can work.

So if you want to learn all about who’s behind a fake Snapchat account, then this article is for you.

Let’s get right to it!

Fake Snapchat Account: Who Is Behind? (How to Find Out)

What Constitutes a Fake Snapchat Account? (3 Things)

Before we can really get into techniques and processes for unveiling fake accounts, it might help to lay a foundation.

What even is a fake Snapchat account?

The platform lets you pick your own name, so how does an account become fake?

There is no official term here, but there is a bit of a rule of thumb.

An account is considered fake when it is not representing the name it claimed.

So, if you have an alias that you like to use while playing games, and you create a Snapchat account under that alias, it’s not a fake account.

However, if you create an account using someone else’s alias and pretending to be them, then that is a fake account.

It really comes down to how a person is representing an account and why.

Fake accounts are anything that misrepresents identity, and they come in a few varieties.

Bots and spam accounts can be considered fake. So can spoof accounts.

Even an anonymous account can be fake if the owner is misrepresenting who they are.

#1 Bots and Spam

This is probably the most common type of fake Snapchat account.

You see it all the time.

A fake spam or bot account (often both) just wants to send you messages.

They are usually advertisements in some form or another.

Some try harder than others to engage with you.

Ultimately, the point is always the same.

They’re trying to get money out of you.

The accounts are made en masse, and they’re not exactly easy to trace.

You can try the methods that we’ll go over later to see who made a spam account, but success is unlikely.

It’s much more common that you will never know who made the account.

Fortunately, you don’t need that information to block or ignore a spam account.

#2 Anonymity

On a completely different note, some accounts are kept anonymous, but they aren’t part of a bot or spam scheme.

It’s a regular person behind the account; they just aren’t letting you see their true identity.

There are a lot of reasons to make an account this way.

You can imagine someone who is famous (or at least well-known) wanting an anonymous account so they can interact with people without the attention their celebrity usually brings.

It could also be someone who just wants to stay unknown.

The motivation doesn’t really matter.

The point here is that you can’t directly see who owns the account.

#3 Spoof Accounts

Spoof accounts are something else entirely.

This is where the account is impersonating another person or entity.

Imagine a fake celebrity site.

Or, it could be someone pretending to be a well-known company.

And, it doesn’t just apply to well-known people and things.

Someone could spoof your account and pretend to be you.

The point is that this goes beyond anonymity.

There is genuine impersonation here.

These accounts can also be tough to pin down, but the methods in the next section do offer some possibilities.

That’s especially true if the person being spoofed is someone you know.

How Do You Find the Identity of the Snapchat Fake Account? (3 Ways)

Ok.

Now that we’ve gone over the types of fake accounts and what is going on with all of that, we can move into the crux of the conversation.

How do you actually find the person?

Let me reiterate that there are no guarantees here.

I’m going to show you some useful tips, but at the end of the day, a lot of people manage to stay hidden on the internet.

And, Snapchat has a commitment to privacy.

The company isn’t exactly trying to make it easy for you to identify people who want to stay anonymous.

Most importantly, bot and spam accounts are almost impossible to find.

There are simply too many of them.

Even if you find out who created the account, it doesn’t give you any power over the bot.

It will keep doing what it does.

So, with all of that in mind, these three techniques can help you try to find out who is behind a fake Snapchat account.

#1 Social Engineering

For those unfamiliar, social engineering is basically a term for tricking people into doing what you want.

There are a lot of ways to go about it, but if you’re trying to unmask a fake Snapchat account, here’s the gist.

Talk to the account.

Engage with it.

Ask it questions and try to get to know it.

Through conversation, you will inevitably get hints as to who runs the account.

Now, if it’s a bot with limited language responses, then you won’t’ get anything out of this, and it’s one of several reasons why bot and spam accounts are so hard to unmask.

But, if you’re talking to an actual human being, then the conversations will always leave clues.

You’ll have to make a judgment call as to how honest they are being, but with persistence and subtlety, you might be able to figure it out.

#2 Image Search

If you have an image on a computer, you can go to Google image search and upload it.

Google will use its mystical powers to figure out the origin of the picture that you submitted.

Keep in mind that this even works for digital copies.

It doesn’t have to be an original.

You can use this with Snapchat to try to find an account owner.

Pull up their profile picture and take a screenshot.

Image search the screenshot, and you might just find the account owner.

You can do this with other pictures too, as long as they come from the source.

The challenge with this method is pretty easy to see.

The fake account might be using a fake profile picture.

In that case, your image search won’t do much for you.

#3 Cross Reference

This is probably your most powerful tool in unmasking fake accounts, and you’ll see why spam accounts are so hard to find.

The idea is that social media is full of clues.

You can look at the mutual friends you have with the Snapchat account.

This isn’t as simple as on some other social media platforms.

To look at mutual friends, you need to start from your own profile.

You can get there by tapping on the Bitmoji you have in the upper lefthand corner of the app.

Then, choose “Add Friends.”

That will pull up the “Quick Add” menu and a list of users.

Within this list are mutual friends.

Here’s the tricky part.

Snapchat doesn’t tell you which ones are mutual friends.

But, it is largely believed that part of the friend-suggesting algorithm pulls from mutual friends.

So, if you go through this method, you will inevitably come across mutual friends.

Basically, this list of users is where you can turn to try to find people who might also interact with the fake account.

From there, you can talk to mutual friends and see if they know who is running the account.

You can even try a little social engineering if you want to.

You can take this a step further and cross-reference the Snapchat account name with other social media.

Then, you can go through mutual friends on each platform.

By the time you do, you will have access to a lot of information regarding this account.

You might be able to figure things out.

If you still need more, try a deep dive on Google.

Rather than searching images, you can search for names and other information that comes up during your investigation.

What If You Can’t Find the Identity of a Snapchat Fake Account? (2 Points)

Even if you put in a sincere effort and use everything mentioned above, you still might not know who owns the account.

What can you do about that?

Well, if they bother you, you can block them on Snapchat.

You don’t have to engage at all.

If it’s just a mystery and you want to know, you can try asking the account owner who they are.

Ultimately, unless there is urgency tied to the account, it doesn’t matter too much if you discover who they are or not.

That said, if urgency is an issue, then there are a couple of things you can do.

They won’t necessarily reveal who owns the account, but they can help you address issues that might be tied to the fake account.

#1 Contact Snapchat

If you are being harassed or otherwise bothered, you can block the account.

You can also report it.

It’s pretty easy to do, and if Snapchat is notified about troublesome accounts, they will take action.

If someone is spoofing your account, contact Snapchat right away.

Being spoofed is unpleasant at best.

You want to inform Snapchat so that they can take swift action and protect your identity and reputation.

#2 Contact Law Enforcement

If at any time your interactions with a fake Snapchat account feel unsafe, you can also contact law enforcement.

Restraining orders and other actions can prevent the account from contacting you, and law enforcement can compel Snapchat to reveal the account owner if the situation makes that a necessity.

In fact, Snapchat has an official process for working with law enforcement when legal and safety issues arise.

Keep in mind that this isn’t limited to fake Snapchat accounts.

You can report any account that makes you unsafe.

You don’t even have to limit it to Snapchat.

If you are in danger, get the help you need.

Author

Theresa McDonough

Tech entrepreneur and founder of Tech Medic, who has become a prominent advocate for the Right to Repair movement. She has testified before the US Federal Trade Commission and been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, helping influence change within the tech industry.

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