The surge in Dummy Facebook Accounts Alarms Universities in PH and Everyone Else

While scrolling down your Facebook feed lately, you might have noticed something odd. You’re right,  it’s the different posts that are encouraging you to help and report fake or dummy Facebook accounts of a certain person.

This has become a thing since the weekend and this has brought many Filipinos searching their own names in the social media platform just to check whether or not their accounts also have mysterious and empty dummies.

If you haven’t done this yet, you might want to do so now and see if there are any dummy accounts that are made by using your identity.

Where and when did it start?

The question is, “Where and when did the emergence of these Facebook dummy or fake accounts really start?”

On Sunday, June 7, 2020, UP Cebu University Student Council has published an alert claiming that they have been receiving reports of threats and false accounts using the identities of UP Cebu students and alumni just a day after the arrest of “Cebu 8”.

However, it’s not only students of UP Cebu who seem to be affected by the surge of dummy Facebook accounts.

Unity Statement About the Dummy Accounts

On the same day, the UP Cebu University Student Council, Unified Student Organizations, All UP Academic Employees Union- UP Cebu Chapter, and UP Cebu official publication, Tug-ani, has released a unity statement regarding the “attacks” against UP Cebu students after the protest dispersal just last Friday, June 5, 2020.

Here’s what the said Unity Statement contains:

University of the Philippines Advisory

On the other hand, the University of the Philippines has also released an official public advisory urging members of the UP community to check if they have dummy accounts and to properly report these to Facebook:

Non-UP Students Also Find FB Dummies of their Account

In addition, many individuals who are not part of the University of the Philippines also found dummies of their accounts.

Another big university in our country, the De La Salle University, has also released a statement about what’s recently happening.

Here’s what the university have to say:

Statement from the NPC

Also on June 7, 2020, Privacy Commissioner Raymund Enriquez Liboro of the National Privacy Commission (NPC) has released a statement with regards to the on the reported proliferation of “Impostor” Facebook Accounts.

According to him, the National Privacy Commission is monitoring reports about the proliferation of alleged impostor Facebook accounts that have victimized Filipino data subjects.

Furthermore, while the extent of these incidents is not yet fully determined, he said that they have been receiving reports from different sectors, mostly coming from academic institutions.

As said in the Privacy Commissioner’s statement, the concerns about the impostor, dummy, or fake Facebook accounts have already been brought to the attention of Facebook.

For the meantime, NPC is encouraging everyone to report their impostor or dummy accounts.

Report the Dummies

As a lot of people started checking if their accounts also have empty, dummy versions, many individuals who aren’t part of the mentioned universities have found out that they too have dummies.

If it so happens that you’re one of these people who have some dummy accounts, as encouraged by the NPC, make sure to report it. Here’s How to Report Fake Accounts On Facebook That Are Pretending to Be You.