In a survey conducted by the Weber social agency, 14 percent of Russians use fake accounts. These accounts are mostly created to conceal one’s identity, with 37 percent citing this motive, while 15 percent use them to observe the lives of people who have blocked their primary account. The findings come from the 360 study results. The takeaway is that many users turn to alias profiles as a shield in an online world that feels increasingly crowded and unpredictable.
About 15 percent of those polled said they create fake accounts for work purposes. Another 8 percent admit to using these profiles to prank friends, and 5 percent say they create them to monitor former partners. The patterns point to a mix of professional, social, and personal incentives behind the creation of secondary identities online, underscoring how flexible people perceive social media to be in everyday life.
Moreover, most participants describe their social media activity as private, even as they admit to sharing certain facets of their lives in a controlled way. At the same time, 35 percent say they could offer only a superficial description of their lives on websites, and 32 percent are not ready to disclose any information at all. This tension between privacy beliefs and actual sharing habits highlights a cautious approach to digital personas among many users.
In addition, 75 percent of respondents never reveal personal problems, tragedies, or deeply personal experiences on social networks. The avoidance of vulnerability online appears widespread, suggesting that many users keep sensitive details off public feeds and instead turn to more neutral, surface-level updates when they post.
Sometimes the motive for creating a fake account is to shield oneself from scammers, but sociologists warn that even minimal exposure of personal details can invite trouble. A striking 69 percent of respondents reported attempts by attackers to break into accounts for extortion purposes; another 7 percent acknowledged real harm from such actions. More than a third of those surveyed said their social media pages had been hacked at least once, underscoring persistent security risks in the online space.
A total of 1.5 thousand adult Russians participated in the research, offering a snapshot of attitudes and behaviors across a broad segment of the population. While the sample size provides useful insights, it also reflects a moment in time, and attitudes toward online anonymity and privacy can evolve with changing technologies and social trends.
Experts warn that Russians are facing a wave of account thefts across messaging platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp, including fraudulent domain registrations and phishing attempts. The study points to a growing need for awareness about how secondary accounts can be exploited and what steps users can take to protect themselves against such threats.
In one notable incident, scammers deceived a Muscovite by using a fake account that posed as actor Ivan Okhlobystin, illustrating how even high-profile personas can be impersonated online and how vulnerable individuals can be to social engineering attacks.