In the world of social media, identity theft is a big problem. I’m confident in saying this. For every real successful YouTuber or social media influencer, there are often 10 to 50 fake profiles at any given time.
Surprisingly, many influencers don’t seem to be bothered by this growing trend of impostors. In fact, some even believe that having fake copies of them online can actually help their popularity. They think that when viewers get tricked by a fake video, they’ll eventually find their way to the real influencer.
But, I can’t vouch for the truth of that idea. What I can say for sure is that having fake profiles can lead to serious legal trouble and damage your reputation if they lead your followers down a harmful path. In this discussion, I’ll explain several scenarios, each of which could result in significant financial losses and legal problems.
Selling Products or Services Scam:
This is a common issue among financial influencers. Fake influencers try to sell stock tips or fake trading packages. If people get scammed and report it to authorities, convincing them that you’re not involved can be very hard. Plus, if it becomes a big news story or goes viral, your reputation could be ruined.
Fake Agent Problem:
Some impostors pretend to be your authorized agents, taking money from companies for endorsing products or services and then disappearing. This creates legal problems for both you and the companies involved.
Content Theft Nightmare:
Sometimes, your content is stolen and used on other YouTube channels or social media sites. These thieves may even try to make you look like the thief. They might get your content or entire channels taken down. Many content creators don’t report these infringements to YouTube, thinking they’re just fans, but this can lead to the growth of fake channels, putting you in a bad situation.
Solutions:
Now, let’s look at some ways to fight copyright violations and identity theft, both softly and firmly:
1. Regular Content Audits:
First, regularly check your social media for unauthorized copies. When you find them, send a stern email to the infringing party, asking them to remove it or face legal consequences. This usually works. How often you do these audits depends on your influencer status, from weekly to daily.
2. Comply or Complain:
If the first step doesn’t work, file a formal copyright complaint with the social media platform. Be persistent in following up until the fake content is taken down. Have a well-thought-out action plan to speed up the process.
3. Last Resort:
If nothing else works and there are good reasons to remove the fake content, consider hiring a copyright and trademark attorney. However, the first step should always be trying to communicate with the other party to convince them to remove the content without a legal battle. This approach often works. Legal action should only be taken if absolutely necessary.
In Conclusion:
The Smart way, However, if as a content creator, these all seem a daunting task there is an easy way to appoint a copyright and trademark compliance and enforcement firm like us to take care from end to end brand protection and legal enforcement, Generally depending on influencer requirement and risk of identity theft we set a team who comprises scanner, persuasion and a Lawyer to implement this in a seamless way, without much involvement of influencer who definitely want to focus on content creation rather than chasing violators.
To know more you can reach out to us at cs@aktassociates.com or call 8080088288.
About the Author:
CA Arun Tiwari is a Chartered accountant Ex- EY and Cheif consultant of Influencer Desk, A dedicated legal and technical arm of AKT Associates, which helps Influencer handle tax, legal, and Trade mark compliances in a seamless manner, He is himself a content creator and has faced all these issues first hand, The Vision of Influencer Desk is to provide end to end support for Influencer community to set them free to create contents without worrying on other legal, tax and Trademark aspects.