In this article, we explain who can send a fake friend request, why they do it, and how to recognize a suspicious request on social media platforms.

You can receive fake Facebook friend requests for a variety of reasons: some innocent, some malicious. People who send fake or malicious friend requests include:

Be wary of signs that a friend request is not genuine. Ask yourself these questions to determine if the friend request is coming from a fake profile:

The next time you receive a random friend request, ask yourself these questions and use your answers to determine if you've just spotted a fake friend request. When in doubt, the best course of action is to not accept the request.