Skip to content
Smartable Academy
Smartable tools

← Digital Safety & Citizenship II

Your progress

Checking your sign-in…

Who's learning?

Each profile keeps its own read lessons, badges, streak, and practice scores on this device.

Lesson 7 of 10

A fake account that copies a friend

Show on a big screen

5 min

Text size

A classmate shows you an account. It has a friend's name and photo. Its posts sound strange.

You see an account with a friend's name and photo.
Step 1 of 4
  1. You see an account with a friend's name and photo.
  2. Its posts do not sound like your friend.
  3. You do not reply or share.
  4. You show a grown-up you trust.

The rule

A fake account hurts the real person. Do not reply or share it. Tell a grown-up you trust.

A fake account pretends to be a real person. It uses that person's name or photo. The real person gets blamed for what it posts. It hurts even when someone calls it a joke.

If you see one, do three things.

  1. Do not reply or share. Each reply or share can spread it.
  2. Keep proof. Do not delete anything about it. Ask a grown-up to save screenshots.
  3. Tell a grown-up you trust. They can report it. The site may remove it.

Proof shows what happened. A screenshot is a picture of your screen.

If you are the one copied, it is not your fault. Do the same three things.

If a friend's account says odd things, ask your friend in person. Never make an account that pretends to be someone. It can be against the law.

Pick what you would do first.

Loading lab…

Try the lab to finish this lesson.