Fight Back Against Online Trolls and Bots

       Have you noticed an increase in spam comments on your social media feeds that seem unrelated to your posts or are inflammatory for no apparent reason? It’s not just you – there has been a widespread increase in bot and troll behavior online over the past year, and it may seem like every time you delete or hide the comments another appears in its place. In this blog, we’ll teach you how to handle this annoying and persistent behavior, and suggest ways to fight back and keep your timeline clean. 

       One of the most common scams/bot activities is to message your social accounts directly, claiming to be a representative of the social platform. The bot will claim that your business has violated some kind of copyright, and that your account is in jeopardy of being deleted if you refuse to take action and give them more information about your account. These messages range from obvious scams to convincing pleas – sometimes incorporating official logos or names you recognize to trick you into providing passwords. These scams are typically easy to avoid, as most social platforms will contact you in some other way that is not easily replicable – like a pop-up in the app or special notification that prevents you from interacting with the app until you first tap the icon/notification. 

       Another type of common bot behavior is trying to sell you or your customers something that may or may not exist. These bots appear in the comments of your posts, asking you to promote your business on their page, buy something from them, or ask questions that seem related to your business but are actually a way to promote a business of their own. Sometimes, these bots offer “help” with promotion, claiming your website needs improvement and that they will redesign it for free, despite having no access to your website. These scams only serve to line the pockets of scammers, and are not helpful like they may seem. 

       How can we prevent this type of activity on our pages? Unfortunately, there are far too many bots currently active on social media for the platforms to track down and eliminate them all, so making sure to double check any links, provide password and account information only when you’re SURE it’s safe, and hiding comments with external links that could fool your page’s actual followers are the only ways to fight back against bots currently. As with anything on the internet, staying diligent and up-to-date on current scams is important and can save you and your business time and money.

       If you need help managing your social media accounts, Trustworkz is always here to help! Contact us for any and all of your social media needs and we’d be glad to help!