Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms across all age groups, and it’s also among the most affected by fake or bot accounts. That’s why, I think, everyone must know how to spot fake Instagram accounts, because, believe it or not, they can do serious harm (more on it later)!
Before we jump to the tips, let’s set the tone with two simple questions that’ll give you a quick insight into the world of fake Instagram accounts:
- What are fake accounts on Instagram? Any profile that wasn’t created by a real human for posting genuine content or interacting with others is a fake Instagram account.
- What do fake Instagram accounts want? Fake accounts are usually used to inflate the follower count, deliver paid likes and comments, impersonate someone, or scam real users. For instance, when you buy Instagram followers, all the new followers added to your profile are fake accounts.
How can I tell if an Instagram account is real or a bot?
Note: You can’t judge an account’s authenticity using a single factor. Always assess a profile based on a combination of these for best results. While there is a chance of inaccurate assessment, it’s next to negligible.
1. Check the username
The very first thing I look at when trying to spot fake Instagram accounts is the username. For over a decade, there hasn’t been much change in this aspect. Fake Instagram accounts still have usernames that include a series of numbers. Or if it’s just characters, the username is usually too long. For instance, consider the usernames “mylah_mcintosh.h207” and “abigail_murphy.s747“. These are both fake accounts (screengrab attached below).
Honestly, the person who created these accounts put in some effort to pick a username that somewhat resembled a real user, not too close but still not as generic as what one usually comes across. Most fake Instagram accounts have usernames like “life.stylecreators“, “ogradylennon“, or “louisestafford21“. I hope you get the picture by now!
2. Verify the follower-to-following ratio
One of the key aspects experts rely on when trying to spot fake Instagram accounts is the follower-to-following ratio. It makes things so much easier, and no matter how much effort the person behind these puts in, the account’s lack of authenticity is always apparent. Here are the profiles of the two usernames I shared earlier. You can see the difference between the number of followers and the accounts they are following.
In my experience, for most real profiles, the follower-to-following ratio is ideally between 1:1 and 1:2.5. Next comes real secondary accounts that many create for a curated set of audience or to follow a bunch of celebrities, influencers, or meme pages. In such cases, the follower-following ratio could go as high as 1:15, and not more. But for fake accounts, it’s usually between 1:80 and 1:150. So, you could easily spot fake Instagram accounts at first glance.
3. View the profile picture
The biggest giveaway that will help you spot fake Instagram accounts is the profile picture. I recently received a scam message on Instagram, and the sender’s profile picture was the first thing that made me certain that it was a fake account.
Here are a few things you must look out for when trying to spot fake IG accounts based on the display picture:
- No profile picture: Could be a fake account, but you can’t be certain. Even real users often don’t upload a display picture or remove it temporarily.
- Fake/generic profile picture (as was the case above): Likely to be a fake account. Unless it is a fan page or someone’s secondary Instagram account, using a fake, generic, or AI-created profile picture is a major red flag.
- Real profile picture: Unlikely to be a fake account, but there are exceptions. When I say exceptions, it’s because people behind fake accounts often steal profile pictures (and posts) from real users to display authenticity.
4. Inspect the bio (if there’s any)
Real profiles always have an interesting bio or some sort of human-generated content that exhibits legitimacy. Fake accounts, on the other hand, have either no bio or very generic ones, say a collection of hashtags irrelevant to what the account usually posts. For instance, the profile that sent me a spam message didn’t have a bio, and neither did any of the other two accounts that were connected to it.
However, we can’t ignore the fact that millions of real Instagram accounts also don’t feature a bio. I don’t have one on my personal account, and I have had it active for at least 10 years. So, while it’s not the absolute criterion for assessment, it does give you some perspective into the nature of the profile. All you need is keen attention to detail and the ability to distinguish a real bio from a fake one!
5. Analyze the engagement rate
A key criterion for spotting fake accounts or profiles impersonating celebrities is the engagement rate. Such accounts often rely on buying Instagram followers to inflate the numbers, but they can’t keep up the engagement rate, such as likes and comments. On average, a real and active profile sees a 20-40% like-to-follower ratio, i.e., 20-40 likes for every 100 followers. Anything between 7-20% is also acceptable when a person rarely posts!
However, profiles displaying no engagement, even with 50-70 followers, are most likely fake. To confirm this, check the list of followers and verify whether those, too, are fake accounts.
The reason I recommend this is because people behind fake accounts often create 50–100 of them and cross-follow between these accounts to inflate follower numbers to create a false sense of legitimacy. But a quick look at the followers and followings, and the mask comes off!
6. Evaluate the posts
Another easy trick to spot fake Instagram accounts is to look at recent posts. If these don’t align with the profile’s bio, it’s likely a fake account meant for exploiting loopholes in Instagram’s algorithm or shady promotional tactics. For instance, if the bio says that the profile is a celebrity fan page but all the posts promote products and services, that’s a big red flag!
Also, look at the hashtags under each post. These help distinguish real Instagram accounts from fake ones. Real users often use only a few targeted hashtags that are relevant to their niche, while fake accounts include tens of hashtags to enhance visibility.
7. Check the profile’s tagged posts
If you have been on Instagram for a while, check the posts you have been tagged in. These must be from friends in pictures where you are actually present. That’s the general convention, right?
However, fake Instagram accounts usually tag a bunch of other fake profiles in each post. And more often than not, all these accounts are run by the same person.
So, why do they do it? To increase the follower count on other accounts from one that has already reached a reasonable number, say 5,000-10,000 followers. That’s a common tactic employed by people running several fake accounts on Instagram.
8. Review interactions you had with the profile (if any)
If you have had any interactions with the suspected fake Instagram account, review those and look for signs of inauthenticity. These include:
- Threats to leak photos or videos
- Promotional tactics
- Offering high rewards in exchange for rather simple tasks
- Job offers for roles you never applied for
- Offering you money out of the blue
- Message includes links to dubious websites
Your real friends or followers would never send these types of DMs. Only fake accounts designed to trick unsuspecting users resort to these methods, helping you easily identify one. And if it’s indeed a fake account, block it right away!
9. Look through the “About this account” section
Instagram introduced the About this account feature a few years ago to help users find out an account’s creation date, country of origin, and any previous usernames. To go to it, visit any profile > tap on the ellipsis near the top right > choose About this account.
For the account details shared above, you can see that it was recently created in January 2025 and has already changed its username once. Although this one is a legit Instagram account, fake profiles frequently change their usernames. So, that’s one aspect to look at. Next, check the country in which the account is based. If it’s one of the regions where fake accounts usually originate from, say India, the United States, or Brazil, your suspicions are justified!
10. Use a website/app to detect fake Instagram account
If you don’t want to go through all the trouble to spot fake Instagram accounts, there’s an easy way out: use a dedicated tool like HypeAuditor or Influencer Hero. These tools factor in several aspects, like the profile’s authenticity, recent activity, follower-to-following ratio, and engagement rate to determine whether an Instagram account is real or fake!
Remember, the tools don’t always present the full picture and may miss out key factors. So, I recommend the manual approach to spot fake Instagram followers. That’s what I do!
Do fake Instagram accounts pose any harm?
Yes, fake Instagram accounts do pose a harm when interacted with. For instance, they can send you hurtful messages, resort to spammy comments, or mass report your account. Besides, a more common drawback is that fake accounts are used to scam real users. That’s why, when you spot a fake Instagram account, make sure to report it!
How do I know who is behind a fake Instagram account?
If you want to find out who is behind a fake Instagram account, only two tips work in 2025: reverse image search and checking the connections. Here’s how you can use them:
- Reverse image search: If the account has a profile picture or posts showing a real person, download it or grab a screenshot, and search for it using Google Images. You will then find out who the image originally belongs to. Mostly, it’s a real user who has nothing to do with the fake account, but sometimes, this will lead you to the person operating the fake profile.
- Checking the connections: If it’s a fake Instagram account with 10-20 followers/followings, examine those. Commonly, all these accounts are operated by the same person and are interlinked to boost numbers. So, checking them all and finding a common link will eventually lead you to the person who created the fake account on Instagram.
That’s how you can spot fake Instagram accounts and hopefully find out the person behind them. As I said earlier, you can’t judge an account’s authenticity based on any single factor. It’s always a combination of these that delivers more accurate results. Besides, you may be wrong at times, but every mistake will improve your judgment skills.
Before you leave, find out what to do if you are regularly losing Instagram followers and ensure consistent growth!
For any queries or to share more tips with our readers, drop a comment below.
With over five years of experience in the tech industry, Kazim excels at simplifying complex topics, making them accessible to tech enthusiasts and general readers alike. He has contributed to several renowned publications worldwide, including WindowsReport and Allthings.how, bringing insightful coverage of key developments in the field.
In the past, Kazim was closely associated with a digital marketing firm that handled social media profiles of influencers. This helped him gain deep insights into Instagram’s algorithm and policies.
