Fraudulent Twitter Accounts: PR Problem & Solutions

 

Imposter accounts on Twitter can cause serious PR problems for individuals, organizations and brands – but there are solutions.

To minimize the problem of fake accounts, Twitter accords some users special treatment. Twitter verifies accounts of key individuals and brands in high-profile areas like music, sports and media to establish authenticity. Those Twitter users have checkmarks next to their user name on their profile pages, signaling that Twitter has verified the account as authentic.

The verification process helps Twitter users distinguish real accounts of well-known tweeters from impersonators. Impersonation violates the Twitter Rules. Twitter reserves the right to suspend accounts that portray another person in a confusing or deceptive manner and has closed down several million imposter accounts. Still, fraudulent accounts persist. In fact, an underground market in fake Twitter accounts continues to exist.

Individuals, companies and other organizations can stymie imposters by running a search for fake Twitter accounts that use their individual or corporate name, brand names or acronyms. The easiest way to check is to run a search on Twitter for @[name]. Then, report an impersonation account to Twitter.

But don’t bother asking to have your account verified; Twitter says it doesn’t consider verification requests. Providing a link to your website from your Twitter profile is the best way to show your account is legitimate, Twitter says.

Journalists – the Largest Group of Verified Accounts

A new study published by Triggertrap CEO Haje Jan Kamps on Medium offers interesting insights into the verified Twitter accounts.

Journalists are the largest and most active group of verified Twitter users. Sports teams and athletes are the next largest group, representing 18 percent of the elite group.

There are 150,000 verified accounts, a tiny portion of Twitter’s 300 million users. Not surprisingly, verified accounts have many followers – an average of over 125,000, according to the analysis. But their median number of followers is about 9,000. That’s because the largest accounts, mostly celebrities, have enormous numbers of followers. Katy Perry has over 70 million; Justin Bieber over 64 million.

Journalists and media properties tweet frequently. They tweet about their content and breaking news. Businesses are also tweet often. Many run customer support over Twitter, which increases their tweet volume as their customer base increases.

Kamp’s analysis shows some of Tweeters are extremely active, racking up huge numbers of tweets. @6BillionPeople follows 2.44 million others (and has 3.3 million followers). @AmexOffers has tweeted almost 3 million times.

How Does Verification Help?

Besides showing authenticity, verified accounts have extra features, like account analytics filters on notifications, according to Twitter. But it’s not clear how much, or if, verification helps attract followers.

“It’s a symbol in terms of clout,” Joe McCaffrey of the digital marketing agency Huge, told CNBC. CNBC had reported earlier this year that Twitter may verify accounts for a small fee, but a plan has yet to emerge.

“Part of the power behind it is users can’t submit,” McCaffrey added.

Verification can sometimes help, given the prevalence of imposter twitter accounts. It’s most useful when releasing official statements and breaking news, Jill Sherman of the digital agency, DigitasLBi, told CNBC. Verified accounts also appear in searches more often.

Bottom Line: Verification helps Twitter reduce the use and value of fraudulent accounts. Verification helps other users know that it’s the actual person who is tweeting. It’s unclear if verification increases the popularity of the account – but it certainly doesn’t hurt it. A new analysis of the verified Twitter users reveals interesting insights into the select group, including who they are and their number of followers and tweeting frequency.