A new scam trend is sweeping through the vintage groups on Facebook: cloned profiles. In this post I will detail what the scam is and how it works, as well as provide a few tips on how to avoid falling victim to a cloned profile scam.
I was contacted just this morning by a member of the big group I help administer, Vintage Baseball Cards, who was scammed out of $1,000+ by someone, likely overseas, using a fake profile of an established, respected group member.
Unfortunately, Cardhound has several past posts detailing various scams that sweep through the sports card groups from time to time. For a broad overview, try “How to Stop 99.9% of Sports Card Scams.” But in this post we will focus specifically on the cloned profile issue.
What is a cloned profile?
A cloned profile is a social media account made to look exactly like the account of someone else. In this case, scammers tend to impersonate well-known, reputable sellers. They will use the same screen name, and even steal the photos from the original profile. Often, they will attempt to friend other members of the group to appear to be legit and credible.
Facebook appears not to care one bit if your profile has been cloned, so the practice is not likely to end any time soon, if ever. It is simply one of the many vulnerabilities of using Facebook to transact.
Facebook has a process for reporting fake accounts–but in my experience of reporting this fraud dozens if not hundreds of times, I have never heard of any case where Facebook followed through and removed the clone. Further, the clone typically blocks the original account
How does the cloned profile scam work?
Sometimes the cloned profile will be actively posting item for sale in the group. When they do this though, it is usually in hopes of a quick hit, because the real member will likely see the fake profile and alert admin.
More often, the clones are in the group under other names, and then message unsuspecting buyers directly from the cloned account. The buyer recognizes the name, makes a transaction, and the scam is complete. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Example:
- Member “Steve” is looking for buy a 1953 Mantle.
- Scammer “Bob” sees “Steve’s” post.
- “Bob” messages “Steve” using the cloned profile of “Liam,” a well-known power seller in the group.
- “Steve” has bought from “Liam” before and doesn’t think twice about sending funds.
Note in this image, poor Roger has been cloned multiple times. The first account listed is the “real” one:
How to Avoid the Cloned Profile Scam
There are many steps you can take to avoid this scam. The key is remembering to follow them. This scam preys on familiarity–creating a situation where you are less likely to stop and think.
- Scope out the profile in question. Often, the “real” account will have hundreds of friends and the clone will have just a few. A lack of recent activity is a bad sign. Some people prefer to “friend” a person before doing a deal, for purposes of vetting the account.
- Check the group in question for multiple profiles with that same name. Also search member rosters of similar groups.
- Message the profile that you know to be legitimate and wait for a response.
- If you have transacted in the past, make sure the Paypal or Venmo info matches your past activity.
- Only pay with goods and services protection.
- Be wary of offers via DM from people who do not usually contact you that way.
- “Want to Buy” posts are the worst in terms of scam attempts. Be 100% vigilant when making these posts.
- To avoid being cloned, read up on Facebook privacy and lock down your account to outsiders to the greatest extent possible.
- Check out other Cardhound resources, like our Tips for Online Safety.
