Unscrupulous users exploit technologies shortcomings by masquerading themselves for personal benefit. Stone (2007) defines “sock-puppeting” as the act of creating a fake online identity to praise, defend or create the illusion of support for one’s self, allies or company. A sockpuppet is an online identity used for purposes of deception within an online community. In its earliest usage, a sockpuppet was a false identity through which a member of an internet community speaks with or about himself or herself, pretending to be a different person, like a ventriloquist manipulating a hand puppet. Trust is an essential ingredient of digital communities, therefore members should have a healthy dose of skepticism when participating in these types of communities.
So make sure you can identify your customers otherwise your brand can end up looking for a bailout!
