Bot or Not? Social media account clones affect millions

Aubrey Masango speaks with Scott Cundill, Co-founder and CEO of My Most Trusted Network

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

Millions of social media accounts across various platforms have been cloned and are often operated by bots instead of people.

‘Cloning’ is when your information, such as your name and pictures, is used to create a duplicate account posing as you.

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In some cases an individual may choose to create a clone account of their social media, such as Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook, and have an AI bot operate it on their behalf.

As AI has becoming increasingly sophisticated these bots can mimic the original owner almost perfectly.

“If someone messages you on LinkedIn, there is a very real chance that this is not a real person reaching out to you.”

- Scott Cundill, Co-founder and CEO of My Most Trusted Network

While this might seem convenient on a personal level, this practice has can cause a number of challenges especially when used by scammers.

According to Cundill, these AI bots can siphon data from a person which is then used to steal their money and fake transactions.

These scam clone accounts may attempt to connect with your friends, family, and existing contacts, and ask them questions to get personal information for nefarious purposes.

They could ask for money, send malicious links, try to extract information to commit identity theft, or share content that could destroy your reputation.

“You have got to keep in mind that there are a huge number of scammers out there.”

- Scott Cundill, Co-founder and CEO of My Most Trusted Network