IDENTITY · FAKE PROFILES · SOCIAL ENGINEERING
How to detect impersonation and spot fake identities: a practical guide
A familiar name, photo, logo or job title can be used to create misplaced trust. Online impersonation affects individuals and businesses alike through requests for money, document collection or account theft.
AI can make text and images more convincing. To investigate suspected impersonation, compare context with technical signals, then confirm sensitive requests through an independent channel.
1. Businesses: impersonation scenarios to recognise
CEO impersonation fraud
Someone claiming to be your executive requests an urgent, confidential transfer by email, SMS or WhatsApp. A display name and knowledge of an internal project do not authenticate the request. Follow the usual approval process.
Fake suppliers and changed bank details
A message impersonates a supplier or comes from their compromised mailbox. A plausible invoice arrives with new bank details. Confirm the change with a known contact using previously saved details before changing the payee.
Fake candidates or recruiters
A convincing professional profile can be used to request documents, offer a fake job or persuade someone to open a malicious file. A CV is not inherently malicious: check the context and use the established recruitment process without installing software requested by a stranger.
2. Individuals: everyday impersonation scams
Romance scams
An online relationship gradually leads to a request for money for a medical emergency, travel or an administrative problem. Attractive photos and a long conversation do not prove identity. Step back and speak to someone you trust before paying.
Fake bank advisers or public officials
The caller uses a real name and personal information to appear credible, then asks for codes or an urgent approval. End the call and contact the organisation yourself through its app or official details. Do not rely solely on the displayed number.
3. Signals that can reveal an impostor
The email address and communication channel
An unfamiliar or generic email address can be legitimate but deserves confirmation. Compare the full domain for replaced letters, added words and different reply addresses. Email from the real domain can also originate from a compromised account.
The photo and profile history
Reverse image search can find public reuse of an image. Compare dates, names and context in the results. A resemblance does not prove who owns the photo; no results do not make a profile authentic, particularly if the image was generated or edited.
Urgency and enforced secrecy
Instructions not to consult a colleague, requests to bypass controls or unusual pressure are warning signs. They call for independent verification without proving fraud on their own.
4. Essential steps when something seems wrong
Call back through a known channel
Pause the conversation and contact the person on a previously saved number or independently verified official line. Do not use details added to the suspicious message to verify that same message.
Limit the documents you share
Before sending identity documents, bank details or payslips, check the recipient, purpose and delivery channel. Share only what is needed; do not upload sensitive documents to an analysis tool simply to check a profile.
Cross-check findings before acting
An impersonation detector can highlight inconsistencies for review. A shared name, foreign address or visual resemblance is not enough to accuse someone. At work, have sensitive operations approved by a second person under your established process.
Already shared information?
Preserve useful messages and screenshots. Report the fake profile to the platform and notify the person or organisation being impersonated. If money or account access is involved, promptly contact your bank or IT team through an official channel.
Open the “I clicked, what should I do?” assistantStrengthen your processes against social engineering
HR and finance teams handle requests involving company data and funds. SecurCheck Business gives them a way to investigate suspected impersonation and pass useful signals to support teams.
Systematic identity checks for unusual requests reduce blind trust. They complement technical controls, dual approval and independent callbacks without guaranteeing the absence of fraud.
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