Massive influx of fake accounts

[Deleted Member]

"Social media has a neurochemical effect on the brain that makes it physically and mentally addicting. Self-disclosure on social networking sites activates the same area of the brain that lights up while using addictive substances, per a new Harvard University study [71-73]. The brain's reward region and the chemical messenger routes that connect it influence perception and behavior. Neurons in the main brain regions that produce dopamine fire, raising dopamine levels when an individual uses an addictive substance or has a gratifying event. Consequently, the medication or action is associated with positive rein***ment, giving the brain a 'reward' for using it [2]. This can be seen in how people use social media; when they receive a notice, such as a like or mention, their brain releases dopamine along reward pathways, making them feel good. With comparatively little work, social media offers an infinite supply of instant benefits in the form of another people's attention. Through this kind of positive rein***ment, the brain rewires itself, leading people to crave likes, retweets, and emoticon reactions."

from:
Nomophobia in India: A Psychological Disorder that Causes the Brain to Release Dopamine in Response to Tweets, Emoticons, and other Acts, Rewarding the Behaviour and Sustaining the Habit of Using Social Media Addiction
Dr. V. Thangavel
St. Francis Institute of Management and Research, India

[Wi****]

I got censored for a post too.
Strange that they censor paying members but they don't do anything about the fake profiles that we are reporting.
I'm going to have to reconsider spending any more *** until changes are made.

[CaraVirt]

I have had to edit or remove some posts because of denunciations and insinuations.
Of course, you can express your critical opinions, but please note that the forum guidelines and Code of Conduct also apply here. This includes not denouncing members (e.g. by mentioning nicknames) and not making false claims about Fetish and/or the site owners. Such posts will always be edited/removed and - depending on the content - additionally warned as a vi*lation of the rules.

Thanks for taking note ...
Carmen, FET Team

[Deleted Member]

@CaraVirt

Since you have time to target and censor me (similar to the site blanking out terms in the Limits so those sections make absolutely no sense) while the fake profiles pour in like molecules diffusing to occupy a larger space, tell us:

1) Is it a *** of Terms Of Use if a profile is operated from a location which is different from the location listed on the profile?
2) Is it a *** of Terms Of Use if the operator of a profile is not the person shown in the profile photo?

3) If a profile indicates location in the U.S. but uses language common to English spoken on another continent (beginning sentences with "Am" instead of "I am" for example) or sending messages with word patterns which are atypical of English as spoken in the U.S. ("Yes I am always here for you a lot" for example) is that sufficient for Playamedia to investigate the profile for being fraudulent?

4) If a profile is asked in messages about not adding roles and fetishes or taking the BDSM Personality quiz and they respond "Am not here for BDSM" is that sufficient for Playamedia to investigate the profile for being fraudulent?

5) If a new profile has a username with some variation or spelling of the phrase "pretty prairie" is that sufficient for Playamedia to investigate the profile for being fraudulent?

6) If a new profile's Description appears to be scripted and reads appropriate for a dating site but totally irrelevant for a site exclusively for fetishes and kinks, is that sufficient for Playamedia to investigate the profile for being fraudulent?

7) Is it a *** of Terms Of Use if a profile's Description includes 10 digits which constitute a telephone number dispersed among the words in the description?

and finally,

9) When a profile is reported as suspected to be fraudulent, what is the current average amount of time before a Playamedia employee reviews that profile?

Sincerely,

A paying customer with an accurate location and profile photo

 

[Mo****]

Luckily these scammers are really quite lazy. I've begun just filtering certain screen name conventions out of hand. Then there is the OBVIOUS lack of English as a first language. It's usually fairly obvious just by reading the profile. But 5000 no's are made up by a single successful pig butchering or other scam.

[Deleted Member]

The fakes and scammers here make the experience similar to trying to climb through a compulsive hoarder's garage.
We shouldn't have to deal with so many.

And now... censorship, or something contrary from someone with thousands of comments?

[Mo****]

"Censorship" on the internet? OMG!!!! 🤣😂

[CaraVirt]

Hey everyone,

this conversation is important – and it’s totally okay for it to get a little heated. We welcome open, respectful debate here on FET.

But here’s what’s not okay: personal attacks, off-topic spamming, and general accusations against our moderation team. If certain posts have been removed, it’s not “censorship” – it’s because they clearly violated our community guidelines.
As moderators, it’s our responsibility to keep the forum safe, fair, and on-topic. That means removing insulting or derogatory content – no matter who posts it.

We’re always open to constructive feedback. But even that has to follow the rules: respectful tone, relevant content, and no personal bashing.
Thanks to everyone who’s keeping the conversation thoughtful and engaging. You’re what makes this community work 💜

Keep it kinky,
Carmen, FET Team

[Milesh]

Just call me Wendy's cause I am 4 for 4 on fake profiles and it took me all of about 5 minutes to use google lens, reverse image search to find the Instagram accounts these "verified pics" were stolen from. Good to point out the Instagram accounts were also verified. What is the actual conditions that a pic is verified under? Or is it just a tic box ? Sigh. I question WHY I spent the *** for the yearly subscription and went through all the profile verification, if any scammer from here to kalcuta can just throw up a fake profile with stolen pics from anywhere. Can a mod help me out here? Or is this just going to get deleted? 

[CaraVirt]

Hi @Milesh,

Thank you for your open feedback and sharing your observations in a transparent and objective manner. However, none of our FETMods can help in this case.

We understand very well that such experiences can be frustrating. And it is also understandable that repeated fake profiles cause annoyance, especially when it's as easy to create as you described.
Feedback like yours helps us to deal with such cases more effectively. But it’s always a bit of a tightrope walk between keeping the platform open and dealing effectively with fake profiles.

Image verification on FET is intended to help confirm the plausibility of a profile photo’s authenticity — depending on the chosen verification method, different steps and criteria may apply. While no process can guarantee absolute certainty, verification is one of several measures aimed at strengthening trust within the community.
However, images that have been reviewed and, if necessary, removed (e.g. due to a report) can very easily be re-uploaded.

That´s why we recommend focusing on verified profiles. As part of the verification process, a dedicated authenticity photo is uploaded — this image is not visible on the profile and cannot be changed afterwards by the member.

Carmen, FET Team

 

[Craiglikesfeet]

On 4/7/2025 at 10:43 PM, Boodathedude said:

For fakes? It's easy they have one pic no bio or they e a ton of pics but have a bunch of numbers in their username. Or their bios are waaaaay to good to be true. Or I give the the potato test lol. I find a way to get someone to say potato. Fake/bot accounts for some reason can't do it lol

What’s the potato test? 😂

[ey****]

2 hours ago, Craiglikesfeet said:

What’s the potato test? 😂

Basically.  If you have someone in your DMs you think it a bot or following a script, ask them to say 'potato' in their next message.  They can't, it's not on the script or in the program.

They're programmed based on what they predict your response will be, and asking about potatoes is not what they (currently!) predict.

Example:

"Hello, where are you from?"

they expect you to give a location, and they will then follow up with their location (or claim to be "not far") and then ask another question. 

If you instead of giving a location, reply "say potato" - they still continue with their location or claim to not be far.

but you can replace 'say potato' with just any nonsense.

 

Mind, if the person on the other end *was* a real person, how they would respond to games and distrust is another matter.   But then, in my example above, real people would have saw your location on your profile.  Mind. That's not to say they wouldn't ask where specifically you are from if they are near/curious.   Like for me there's a big difference if someone nearby is Newcastle, or Blyth. 

[Deleted Member]

Since Fetish paying customers continue to be asked to do Playamedia employees' jobs finding fakes and scammers, when do i get a turn at moderator?

[StrictMaster44]

Even more of an increase now. The new trend is Chinese or Japanese (no hating) profile pics with IG links either in bios or kink ads.

[mu****]

It's crazy the amount of suspicious profiles, especially female 'dominant' profiles that have appeared recently.
I will try the potato test.

[Milesh]

Several from Australia now, once again, they fail simple English and grammar, one seemed to be super young, profile said 19, immediately declared they were horny not a hello or hey just " I am super horny right now",  blocked that one right away NO thanks. Other one did not even know what a gold star meant on the profile, slipped up and said it was not there account but then back pendled but maintained, not knowing what it meant, told me it was against tos to tell me info about themselves like location... its listed on the profile. 

[Pr****]

Just looking for real connections and it’s frustrating

[Pr****]

Even real people are posting fake videos or pictures

[Lowvan]

I don't know if I'm noticing a ...eh...automatic mass-profile creation of profiles that are [city][random numbers] e.g. as (made up) examples: london157564, chicago587453, düsseldorf574896 etc. It just can't be a coincidence that half of the new (female, since popular) profiles have that structure as a username. Now, I'm not saying that one, some or all are automated profile creating bots, so don't go being weird towards anyone with a name like that, but it's very suspicious.

Can't say I have engaged with anyone using those profile names (I'm too sceptical and to worried about my sanity ;)) but have people actually interacted with another human being from those? Again, just asking, don't go harass anyone, okay! <3

[ey****]

7 hours ago, Lowvan said:

I don't know if I'm noticing a ...eh...automatic mass-profile creation of profiles that are [city][random numbers] e.g. as (made up) examples: london157564, chicago587453, düsseldorf574896 etc. It just can't be a coincidence that half of the new (female, since popular) profiles have that structure as a username. Now, I'm not saying that one, some or all are automated profile creating bots, so don't go being weird towards anyone with a name like that, but it's very suspicious.

So - it's a tell, but not conclusive.

There are a handful of users on the forum with similar naming conventions who I have no reason to suspect are bots/automated.   I have a feeling these are user names that are autogenerated during the creation process if someone doesn't select a prefered username (they can, however, change later)

I think there's a few other suggested convention - so pretty much any user name that ends in a number is from that - which a lot of genuine users use

This said - it's world building.  If you did get a message from London123 then the name might be an immediate thing which puts you on the foot that something is afoot. 

[ey****]

Interestingly also - on Facebook yesterday I did get a scammer - and 'she' passed the potato test.   I think while the potato test can be funny... it catches out automation, but most times where there is a human on the other end, whether they're following a script or other grift - they can adapt

tbh - most automation these days can probably adapt anyway.  

[Fi****]

Be very very careful. I’ve had 4 accounts contact me and even after some invested time try to hit me up for Apple gift cards. Classic scam. Could be $20, could be $200. Or more. You can tell that during normal flirty conversations they will act one way, then even while they are making the advices, it’s totally flips like they could care less about you and asking for Apple Card’s or PP.

[Se****]

Im finding a lot of "women" on here are using lesser known Instagram model pics. I know there is supposed to be a verification process here but is there a way to filter do we can only see verified people?

[Fi****]

1 hour ago, SeekerXTC said:

Im finding a lot of "women" on here are using lesser known Instagram model pics. I know there is supposed to be a verification process here but is there a way to filter do we can only see verified people?

I’ve noticed a lot that like or crush me are gone with in a couple days

[ey****]

10 hours ago, SeekerXTC said:

Im finding a lot of "women" on here are using lesser known Instagram model pics. I know there is supposed to be a verification process here but is there a way to filter do we can only see verified people?

yes, there's a checkbox in your filter section where you only get verified results back