Fake accounts

[Blowe227]

I’m very sick of getting friend requests from men who have no activity and only female friends. I have reported a Nigerian scammer to Fitbit and was told to block. One other male had near naked photos and again I reported and was told to block. In the past two weeks I’ve been friend requested at least 24 times by similar males. No activity. Widowers. Dog photos. Children. No activity. Only female friends. Others have discussed the blatant sex requests or money requests from males. This is harassment and a clear violation of the Community Rules we all agree to when we set up our accounts. Why is there no fraud investigation group?  I have considered getting out of Fitbit but I have gained so much and love my real friends. Why cannot Fitbit do something to enforce their own rules????????

[Rich_Laue]

People could have step data but have their security set so that others will not be able to see

[Blowe227]

That’s why I accept the friend request to see if they have activity. If it’s private you’d then get a message. But in these cases I am referring to the have NO activity but a bunch of female only friends. Once a friend request is made it’s not long for the unacceptable messages to start. Those are not okay and they should go find a dating or sex site. Not harassing women who want fitness support

[Blowe227]

I hope it is escalated. I’d reported directly before and the only support offered was to “block”. After 30 in a week I’d had enough so I started this conversation. Since I’ve seen multiple community posts on the app stating how tired they are about this problem. Lack of prior concern was very disconcerting. I’m keeping an open mind though. I’ve changed my profile picture and that has seriously slowed down the requests but now my friends think I look like a German Shepherd 😖

[Rich_Laue]

If the messages are coming through the Fitbit PM channek, I would report every one. 

Eventually the moderators will get the hint 

[Blowe227]

Sage advise. Thank you!

[Alicat2104]

Just don't accept requests unless it's from someone you know from a challenge.

[J-flex]

It’s disgusting that these idiots continue to prey on women.  I’ve had a few annoy me, deleted most  of my info, changed my profile pic to a 🐴.  If it continues they’ll see the other end of the horse.

[Blowe227]

Love your response!  I’m now my German Shepherd. Only 3 requests in a week but still 3 too many - beats 30!

[KateFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi Everyone - thanks for reaching out on this topic. This has been shared with our team and something we do take seriously. Please note, we do take steps to automatically remove 'fake' accounts that spam the Community when they arise. Additionally, you can report any Feed comments or posts for our team to review. 

As mentioned in this thread, we do recommend blocking anyone who sent you an inappropriate message and only friend those that you know. You can find more information on how to do that here.

Also, we are always looking to improve the experience on Fitbit. The ability to report a profile would be a welcome feature. I found a feature suggestion that matches this here, I encourage you to vote and share your views. 

[Rich_Laue]

I notice that we now have the ability to report a post on the Fit it Apps comunity feed, I'm not sure when this was added. or if it is avalible in all 4 app versions. 

The notification feed has no such reporting function. .

My question for @KateFitbit is: 

When a persons post gets reported, is there a history kept of these reported posts? 

Is the moderator able to go back later in the month to see why a user keeps getting their posts reported, then make a determination of "shall we band the user or not".

There also still is no way for a person that is being harassed, in the Fitbit apps Community feed, from blocking a single users posts from showing up in their feed. 

[Daves_Not_Here]

Funny, with all the mansplaining I do, I get no friend requests.  I wonder why.

Ladies, sorry you encounter this, but I think it's a general environmental hazard of the internet and social media in general.  In any kind of an open community platform wherein people can connect, there will be a percentage of bogus connection requests.  Life in the big city, and there is no way for a platform to serve up a perfect experience, for free.

And it isn't just a problem for women -- I PAY for a premium LinkedIn account, yet I often receive connection requests from prostitutes.

Another kind of Fake account in the Fitbit Community is the Stupid Question asker.  Somebody creates an account just to ask something like, "I'm so confused - my doctor told me I should breathe during exercise.  Should I exhale after I inhale?  Need help!!"  I still don't know what that's all about, but I suspect that these are people who get paid to post questions and generate traffic.

And, of course, we have competitors and attorneys trying to use the platform to damage Fitbit's' reputation and recruit litigants by posting bogus "Fitbit ate my brain" complaints.

Here's what we do -- we connect the lonely heart guys with the paid posters, Nigerian scammers, multi-level supplement marketers, complainers, liars, and prostitutes, and let them scam each other.

[KateFitbit]

@Rich_Laue yes, when someone gets reported on Feed there is a history of the report and moderators will be able to review the posters past. 

[Blowe227]

I now have 55 blocked males. I experimented with my profile picture. When it was of my German Shepherd I only received 3 requests in one week. Now that I’m me again I had 10 requests in 1 day. Some have marginal activity so those I may just ignore. I am reporting as many posts that are suggestive or fraudulent as I see. 

Im interested in what Fitbit community will do to help screen out these fake accounts - proactive ideas?  Please. It’s very widespread and many women just ignore it. I am not naive enough to expect a perfect platform but it’s absurd why someone with NO ACTIVITY is allowed to friend anyone. 

I find it hilarious a male senior will join the Pregnancy group. Really?  Help here please

[Blowe227]

So what is the approach Fitbit will take?  I’ve removed a bunch of friends and dropped my groups and only respond to friends posts if posted to only friends. I STILL get numerous requests daily. My profile is clear to not send a request. 

Is fitbit going in the direction of anything goes even if not one penny is spent on your product?  Or is it going to stand up for female and male users who use your product and want to promote health?  

I’d worked in systems for decades. Add a simple edit - not activity no privileges. I’m truly interested in Fitbit’s stance. If it’s proactive then when?  I am sick of these requests as are plenty of women.  

After decades of working and dealing with disrespectful men I do NOT want to deal with it in my retirement especially after spending MY good money on your product. Please respond with real words - no corporate speak backpedaling words please. 

[Rich_Laue]

It sounds like your asking Fitbit users for what fitbits policy is on this.

Not sure if this would be what you call back pedaling.

If a user gets a pm that is questionable it should be flagged as such. This will get noted on their account, and a moderator will look into it, they will be able to see the users flagged history. They will then decide what course will be taken ..

As for advertising, this is strictly prohibited on their guidelines and should always be flagged. If not flagged, it will never get the attention of the moderators.

As a user we need to not be afraid to flag a questionable post.

If it is just a request to be friends, their intentions have not been exposed and it would be hard to take action on just a friend request.

[Blowe227]

The point is, why are they on if they have no activity. I can tell you plenty of women know. It’s for on line dating (sex) or money. We are tired of it. Why??? Guess I have my answer and it’s SAD this is the Fitbit response.

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[Ahineline71]

What we women are saying is we are tired of wanting to have discussions
pertaining to weight loss, walking etc. and then get hounded by fake men
from who knows where. I am well aware of the policy, I want Fitbit to
monitor who's doing it. So my question was who else is getting the same
amount of these requests and have they had Fitbit do anything about it.

[Blowe227]

AMEN. 

Im tired of the block and report only reply. There is a simple solution to only allow valid Fitbit users to participate. Intent unknown - cop out. WE HAVE BEEN TELLING YOU THEIR INTENT   I’ve given you discussion leads from my friends. 

Ive posted a review of your app today after the disappointing but clearly honest response. It was fair. Your app is great and stable. It’s just gotten unpleasant for many users. 

[Daves_Not_Here]

This is a User Community.  Fitbit does not appear to monitor it for the purpose of discovering and responding to individual complaints.  You may think they should, but they don't.

If you would like to suggest changes to the software, that's what they've created the Feature Suggestions forum for.  If you have a complaint that is not satisfactorily addressed through the normal flagging and reporting processes, you can contact Customer Support.

But, if you want to frustrate yourself, continue to post complaints here because they will likely never be addressed.

[Blowe227]

Good to know and I appreciate your constructive suggestion.

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