Over 83 million Facebook profiles are fake

Approximately 1 out of every 10 accounts on the social network aren't what they seem

Just last week, fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A got into hot water when it was alleged that a PR flack at the company created a fake Facebook account to battle back against anti-gay criticism. But according to a new report from the world's largest social network, what Chick-fil-A supposedly did is nothing new: There are over 83 million fake profiles on Facebook.

The number actually represents a sizable jump in fake accounts since Facebook last supplied account numbers. In March, an estimated 5-6% of accounts were fake. Now, that number has risen to just under 9%. It's believed that the majority of the 83 million suspect profiles are simply duplicate accounts; only 1.5% are malicious, or what Facebook terms "undesirable accounts."

Facebook is far from the only site suffering from fake, fraudulent, or inactive accounts. Only one in four accounts on competing social network Twitter are active and real, according to Semiocast, a social media research firm.

This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on Tecca

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/technology-blog/over-83-million-facebook-profiles-fake-162359123.html

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