If social media fraud sounds scary, that’s because it is. Identity fraud and misrepresentation online are concerns for businesses everywhere, and especially for medical spas and doctors. The major issue of social media fraud rests in the dissemination of incorrect information by a patient or someone pretending to be one. Although there are no actual statistics describing how frequently or infrequently this occurs, many business do not have the safety nets in place nor the training necessary to combat this issue when it arises.
How can you deter social media fraud? There is no way to prevent someone from impersonating you and posting as a client or patient who visited your business, however, there are certain safety measures that you can follow.
Here at Acara, our client’s online reputation and safety is one of our top priorities.
Lauren Levy, our Digital Marketing Manager, states “I devote my attention to online review sites and verify that reviews are being posted by real people. Because we actively monitor them, we have found fake reviews and have had them removed.”
In addition to actively reviewing sites such as Yelp, Facebook, and SpaFinder, we also use Google alerts on all clients and implement other SEO strategies to keep our client’s online reputation in check.
If you manage your own social media — you need to aggressively monitor your social media footprint. Be sure to Google yourself and your business to ensure that the desired results are correct. In addition, one may set up Google alerts with your name and business name to audit the online dialogue. Another important note — claim your business or personal name on any social media platforms that you are not using, so that no one else does. Finally, be sure to have all privacy settings properly activated on all platforms that you are engaged with.
If you are not sure how to manage your own social media platforms or how to protect yourself from social media fraud, consult with our expert team at Acara to put your mind to rest.