Is My Company Purchasing Fake Users to Enhance B2B Business?
Hello everyone. I manage content moderation at my company, which includes assessing new user signups on different platforms. Recently, I’ve noticed a concerning trend of new accounts appearing, all from the same target country, exhibiting a suspicious pattern in their usernames, emails, and full names. After signing up, these users remain inactive on our platform, and the names often seem off. Here are hypothetical examples to illustrate the issue (not actual accounts):
- Harry Hopkins / Hopnia89 / [email protected]
- Gerrie Dunnigan / Dunnia78 / [email protected]
- Deja Tompkins / Tomlia65 / [email protected]
- Lauren Jackson / Jaclia88 / [email protected]
As you can see, the usernames typically follow a pattern, using the first three letters of the surname with a suffix like ‘nia’, ‘lia’, or ‘ada’, along with email addresses that contain the full name and some random digits.
My team is small, and I need clarity on this situation. My initial thought was the possibility of a common browser extension in the US suggesting usernames, but that seems unlikely given their inactivity. I’ve been tracking these accounts and have gathered a significant amount of data.
I’ve never encountered this form of user acquisition before, and I would appreciate any insights on what could be happening here. Thank you!
2 responses to “Is my company buying fake users to boost b2b business?”
It sounds like you’re encountering a situation that’s not uncommon in B2B platforms, especially when they are targeted in specific regions. Here are some possibilities to consider:
Fake User Accounts: You might indeed be looking at fake accounts created by individuals or entities that use bots or automated scripts to generate sign-ups. This can happen for various reasons, including attempts to inflate metrics or test security vulnerabilities.
Data Aggregators: Some companies sell user data or sign-ups in bulk and may be using a formulaic approach to create fake profiles that resemble legitimate users.
Spam Accounts: These accounts may be created for spam purposes, often with the goal of posting unauthorized content or links when the user is not moderated closely.
Testing Automation: It’s possible that these accounts are created as part of a testing format or a script for automation purposes. While it’s less likely, it could be a software engineer testing multiple sign-ups under one region.
Browser Extensions or Bots: Though you mentioned this could be a stretch, more sophisticated bots or browser extensions that generate random usernames and emails could definitely be at play, especially in a tech-savvy region.
To address this issue, consider implementing the following steps:
Ultimately, identifying the root cause can help you mitigate the problem and improve the overall quality of your user base. It might also be useful to share these findings with higher management, especially if these occurrences might affect your company’s metrics or strategies.
This is a very intriguing issue you’ve encountered, and it raises important questions about the integrity of user acquisition practices in the B2B space. It’s essential to investigate these anomalies thoroughly, as they could indicate attempts to manipulate metrics or inflate user numbers artificially, which can lead to long-term strategic harms.
One potential angle to explore is the efficacy of your user verification process. Implementing stronger verification steps, such as requiring email verification or leveraging services that validate email authenticity, can help filter out suspicious sign-ups more effectively. Additionally, consider analyzing the traffic sources for these signups—using tools like Google Analytics may help identify if these accounts are stemming from particular referral links or campaigns that might not be aligned with your genuine target market.
It’s also worth examining whether competitors or malicious actors might be trying to sabotage your metrics or build a false perception of their own capabilities. If you can track down the originating IP addresses of these signups, you may find clusters that could overlap with certain geographic locations or VPN usage, hinting at non-organic sign-up behavior.
Lastly, don’t hesitate to share your findings with your industry peers. Many businesses are quietly facing similar issues, and open discussions can yield collective solutions or preventative measures. This could also be a good opportunity for your company to enhance its overall customer engagement strategy by focusing on attracting quality leads that convert into meaningful interactions rather than just sheer numbers. Thank you for bringing this topic to light!