How to Spot Fake Followers Before You Hire a Creator

Why follower count isn't enough

Tens of thousands of followers can be bought cheaply, and so can likes and comments. An inflated account looks great on its profile, but your post reaches very few real people.

The good news is that fakes leave traces. People who buy numbers usually buy just one of them, so the others don't line up. Once you know where to look, it takes a few minutes per account.

8 checks you can do yourself

1. Views against followers. Open the latest 10–20 videos. If an account has tens of thousands of followers but every video gets a few hundred views, most followers aren't watching. In our scoring, accounts whose posts reach under 5% of their followers lose points.
2. Likes against views on TikTok. If videos regularly get likes above 20% of their views, that's unusually high and may mean bought likes.
3. Likes that are too even. Real posts go up and down. If every post lands on almost the same number, say just over 1,000 each time, it may be bought in packages.
4. Followers jumping in one day. A rise of more than 15% in a day with no video taking off is a sign of bought followers. (A viral video can spike followers, but views spike with it.)
5. Following far more than followers. An account that follows several times more people than follow it usually grew through follow-for-follow, from people who don't care about the content.
6. Comments that fit any post, like "so pretty 🔥", "nice" or emoji only, with nothing about what's in the post.
7. The same people commenting on everything. If most comments come from the same 5–10 accounts, it may be a comment pod, not a real audience.
8. Empty follower accounts. Tap through the follower list. Lots of accounts with no photo, no posts or random-letter names are fake.

Why screenshots can't be trusted

Many businesses ask creators for a screenshot of their insights, but a screenshot proves very little.

• Numbers can be edited in minutes with any photo app, or by editing the web page before capturing it.
• It may not be the same account. A screenshot with the name cropped out could come from anyone.
• It may be old, or cherry-picked from the single best post.
• It doesn't say if the audience is real. Even accurate numbers don't show whether they were bought.

How verified numbers on Ngaan differ

On Ngaan, once a creator connects an account, their numbers don't come from what they type or a screenshot; they come from the platform itself. Creators who haven't connected yet are clearly marked as unverified.

• TikTok: the creator logs in through TikTok's official login (OAuth), and we pull followers, views and likes from TikTok itself, every day.
• Instagram: the creator sends a code by DM from their own account to prove they own it, then we record the public profile's numbers every day and label them clearly as "public profile figures".
• Unverified numbers show in grey marked (unverified) and are never mixed with verified ones, which carry a ✓.
• An audience authenticity score runs the checks above for you, like views against followers, likes against views, how even likes are and daily follower growth, and says what cost points.

When you post a gig you can set a minimum authenticity score; creators below it can't apply.

What to do with a suspicious account

• Start small. Try a gifted visit or a small paid gig first, then look at the real views on the post you get.
• Pay after delivery. Agree to pay once the post is up, not in full before anything starts.
• Ask politely. For example, when their followers grew fast. Sometimes there's a fair answer, like a viral video.
• Pick someone else. Plenty of creators have numbers that add up; you don't need the risk.
• If a hire goes wrong, report it from the gig's engagement on Ngaan and our team will look into it.

FAQ