Categories

Tweet Us

Blog Stats

  • 340,574 hits + 903,491 previously

How to Identify Fake Backstreet Boys Accounts and What to Do – 2023 UPDATE

by | Jul 6, 2021 | Advice and Tips, Backstreet Boys | 0 comments

A few years ago, we began to see an increase of accounts that claim to be members of the Backstreet Boys on various social media apps. It’s a problem many celebrities are facing. Accounts do get reported and removed, but these people continue to create new ones. Now this isn’t the first time fans have dealt with impostors, posers, fakes, and anything else you want to call them. They’ve been around for years.

The majority of the time, these accounts are being used to scam people out of money. Which unfortunately has happened. There were reports in the news about people being scammed out of thousands of dollars by people claiming to be a celebrity. Despite social media having verified accounts to let you know that the person is in fact the celebrity, some people don’t quite understand this. They think they’re talking to a celebrity and end up getting scammed. I’ve dealt with posers like these almost 20 years ago. While I never dealt with this type of situation, I was bullied by a poser for four years on and off. I’ve seen others convinced they were in fact speaking to a BSB and/or got scammed by them.

The following is how to identify that an account belongs to a BSB. This information was originally on the Kaos Online Facebook page, but since Facebook has removed the notes feature it could no longer be edited.

Post updated on April 21, 2023.

VERIFIED ACCOUNTS
All social media websites/apps such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and others verify celebrity accounts. Verified accounts let you know that the account is official and belongs to a celebrity. How do you know it’s them? An account belonging to the Boys will have a blue check mark by their name. It’s the first thing you should look for when an account messages or follows you and claims they are Nick, Brian, Howie, AJ, or Kevin. This confirms whether or not the account is real.

Update: As of April 20, 2023 Twitter has removed the verified check mark to legacy accounts. These accounts were previously verified and confirmed to be of the celebrity or any public figure. Now unless you pay for their Twitter Blue subscription you will no longer have the blue check mark. Currently Nick is the only BSB with the blue check mark. This means he is likely paying for Twitter Blue.

For other social media accounts the following information about the verified blue check marks still applies.

Don’t see a blue check mark on an account claiming to be a Backstreet Boy? It is NOT them. No matter what they say it is not them. Or how convincing they seem to be. Sometimes when the guys join a new social media website they will announce it through their existing social media. Usually, they do so on Twitter. If they don’t, then it’s most likely not them.

In the example below, there is a blue check mark by Nick’s name on different social media apps. The accounts are official and belong to Nick himself.

Nick Carter’s verified social media accounts.

A fake account will often state they set up the account to interact with fans themselves as their other account is by management. Or they do not want management to know about their new account. This information is FALSE. BSB only use their verified accounts to interact with fans. Keep that in mind when you get a private message from someone claiming to be them.

Now that Twitter has removed the verified blue check marks there are things you should know.

Twitter allows anyone who purchases a subscription to Twitter Blue to get the verified check mark. This is a subscription with extra features such as editing tweets, uploading longer videos, and more. Any account with the blue check mark will state the following when you click on it. “This account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.”

Previously you could tell who paid for Twitter Blue and who was verified long before they included it. Not anymore which may confuse people. There are other ways to know if an account is fake even if it has a verified check mark. You can read more on that later on in this post.

In the event that an impostor/fake account should message you on any social media, we suggest blocking the account and reporting it for impersonation or scam. Don’t reply. We’ve heard stories of fans getting hacked by them as well. So, it’s best to simply block and report them to be safe.

The guys do not use WhatsApp to chat with fans. Get a message from someone on WhasApp saying they’re one of the Boys’, management or someone else from their team? It’s not them. I suggest doing a search on the number. The area code should be a dead give away that it is not them. Nor do they use Google to chat or email you either. The following are the only official/verified accounts BSB currently have.

Twitter: @nickcarter, @backstreetboys, @aj_mclean, @howied, @kevinrichardson, and @brian_littrell
Facebook: Nick Carter, Backstreet Boys, AJ McLean, Howie D, Kevin Richardson, and Brian Littrell
Instagram: nickcarter, backstreetboys, aj_mclean, howie_dorough, kevinscottrichardson, and rokspics (Brian)
TikTok: @nickcarter, @BackstreetBoys, @ajmcleanofficial, and @howied
YouTube: NickCarter & NickCarterVevo, BSBOfficial, OfficialAJMcLeanTV, HowieDOfficial, KevinRichardsonTV & KSR, and MrMrsLittrell
Twitch: nickcarter

Below is a list of things to look out for when coming in contact with an impostor/fake account.

  1. Be aware of these fake accounts asking you for money. Besides not having the blue check mark by their name, asking you for money should be another warning sign that the account does not belong to them. This is one of the reasons why these accounts are being created. To steal money from people.

    They send fans private messages asking for money in the form of a gift card. No Backstreet Boy (or any celebrity) will ask fans for money. They will also not ask you for personal information. Often they will make absurd claims as to why they need the money, such as divorcing their wives. Should you get a message like this, block and report for fraud, scam, impersonation (on Facebook pretending to be something), or any other option you see that fits the situation. Do not respond. Some are known to hack people as well.
  2. Fake accounts will reply to fans in comments on the Boys’ verified accounts (or Facebook page) asking to message them. As stated above if it does not have a check mark by their name it’s 100% not them.

    They like comments on the Boys verified accounts and pages. Usually on Facebook. Sometimes the Boys’ themselves will like comments made by fans so you have to make sure it’s them. Facebook does not show the verified blue check mark in notifications. You can click on the profile image in your notification and it should take you to the profile. From there you’ll see if the account is verified.

    As you can see below, a fan’s comment on Nick’s Facebook was liked by two accounts listed as Nick Carter. The first one shows the comment was liked by a fake profile. The fake profile on Facebook has an add friend button. You can only like and follow celebrities on Facebook. The second photo shows the comment was actually liked (heart) by Nick as he has a blue check mark by his name.
  1. Be aware of pages/profiles being created on Facebook to look like it’s a private account belonging to a BSB or fan pages. As stated previously, BSB have verified accounts. These pages most are likely NOT fan pages. These are people trying to lure fans into believing it is a page or profile specifically used by BSB to message fans privately. They list that they’re official, private, chat pages, real, etc as the name on the page. They will also use names such as fans page, lovers, fans, and fan site to look like a fan made page.

    Their profile will also show images of the verified icon to come across real. No celebrity has images of the verified icon. The icon only appears next to their name.

    They will also join many fan made groups. Between October – December 2022, there were over 70 fake pages attempting to join Nick’s Official Fan Club Facebook group.

    For those of you who own groups or know anyone who does, make sure you don’t have any fake pages as members. They join many fan groups that are public and require no admin or moderator approval to join. Fake accounts or pages use groups to find people to message and attempt to scam them. If you come across any that claim they are Nick, Brian, Howie, AJ or Kevin ban them from your group and report their page. Even if it’s a group page.

    For pages, and profiles select the following when reporting it. Pretending to be something then click celebrity. Type their name and select their page when it appears in a list below the box you’re typing in. For groups select the option you think fits. False information, scams etc.
  2. They may attempt to scam you through email. In messages on apps they’ll tell you to get in contact with their manager. Who will then ask you for gift cards in order to meet BSB or get tickets to shows. Their manager nor anyone they work with will do this. BSB wouldn’t use Google accounts, Gmail or any email service to do this. Any email you receive, report it to the email provider you use and block the person.

    The only place you should purchase tickets to concerts, events, or meet & greet is through their official websites, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and other official ticket sellers in your country.
  3. They don’t know how to write in English. As we all know BSB are American so they would know English. These people tend to misspell and have terrible grammar. This means they are likely from other countries. Sometimes they’ll list the country they are from on their profile.
  4. The boys’ names are often misspelled, have extra letters and numbers added. Other times they’ll list a name while their @ handle says someone else’s name. For example on Twitter their name appears as AJ McLean, but when you tag them it’s @ someone else. The celebrities name and handle would be their name unless stated otherwise like Brian on Instagram. He uses his nickname.
  5. They copy everything from the official accounts. Profile photos, header/cover photos, and posts. On Twitter they will retweet everything from the official account. Including what the Boys retweet. Over on Instagram they will copy their posts and post them onto their accounts.
  6. Some will also send old photos to prove it’s one of the guys. Which doesn’t prove it’s them. Anyone can search the guys on Google or social media to find a photo to use.

While, we can’t stop these people from creating accounts, trying to scam people, and other things, you can report them as mentioned previously. Just be safe when it comes to these accounts. You never know what the person behind the account is capable of doing.

If you do get scammed you should report it to your local police. Save the chats, emails, the account names, profile links or anything this person has sent you. We’re not sure if this would help you get your money back, but this is a crime and should be reported.