Plagiarism is the problem we've been dealing with for some time now and impersonation seems to be happening more lately
It's been observed that some people are now fond of impersonating with the aim of having the attention of the whales and have some good bucks on their posts. It's a very big offence to dishonestly make false representation on Scorum with the intention of making a gain.
Using fake identities and deception for making people fall for their tricks is something I personally think is disgusting and a reprehensible behaviour. In some weeks back, a guy was able to fool a lot of us when he presented himself as a professional footballer and I applaud @mikey's investigatory efforts in bursting that imposter
On many blogging platforms, impersonation is a growing problem and that's why some websites have anti-impersonation policies. Where impersonation is tolerated, false information and fraud will follow suite. If we ignore them and say it's none of our business, we are only causing damage to the platform, and it's just a matter of time before we start seeing a lot of fraudsters phishing and spoofing email address.
Here are the things I think we should do to curb impersonation
- Don't claim a celebrity without any evidence
If you have an introductory post claiming to be a celebrity or someone worthy of recognition, you should have an evidence to back it up. You should post a picture holding a paper with Scorum and the recent date written on it, so that we can confirm your identity. By so doing, even if your post hits $500, people will know it's worth it. If you write a cock and bull story without anything to back up your claim, your post is going to be flagged down.
2. Introductory post is not a must
Yes it's not a must to write an introductory post but if you must, you should be willing to provide your social media accounts for verification, especially during impersonation allegations. The lady accused of impersonation yesterday should have provided a concrete evidence to clear all doubts. If she had edited her post and uploaded a picture to verify her identify as requested, she would have gained more fans and had more bucks on her post but because she couldn't, the post was flagged. If you know you will be submitting fake details, don't even bother to write an introductory post.
3. Fairness in treating all newbies
The reason why we are having the emergence of impersonators is because we focus more on them. We want to upvote any introductory post with a beautiful lady or sugar-coated claims but when the same post gains a wider audience and some mouth-opening bucks, we start digging information and start laying accusations. If we start treating every newbie as being equal, people will be discouraged to fool people here.
4. Learn to admit you're wrong and apologize
We tend to like to pretend we are always right even when we are not. When you're bursted as an impersonator, learn to admit you're wrong and try to apologize rather than opening another account and continue being an impersonator. Some people are generally forgiving and if you have been an idiot just own up to it and apologise. Write a post to apologize and if shame will not allow you, you may open another account and desist from such barbaric act.
5. Flag or report any suspicious act
We need to raise alarm when we see something suspicious. When the number of impersonators or fraudsters go faster than the people willing to expose them, it's going to cause some damages on the platform. Try to report suspicious users to the community and justice will be served. If possible, flag the post but if you are afraid to flag it because they can retaliate, you can report it to the community.
5. Don't accuse anybody without any evidence.
We all have bad days and we have all been assholes at one point or the other but the best thing to do is deal with it in an adult way. Have your evidence ready before accusing someone of being an imposter and watch people service justice. Accusing someone wrongly goes a long way of tarnishing the person's reputation.
6. It may only take time, you will be caught
Nothing can stop you from routinely impersonating people but what you should know is that it may only take time but you will be caught one day and this will ruin your reputation. Every day is for the thief but one day is for the owner.
I drop my pen at this juncture
I hope this makes sense to someone?
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