Identity impersonation on the internet has long ceased to be an isolated phenomenon associated with primitive fake accounts. Today it is a full-fledged digital mechanism that combines technology, analysis of open data, and social engineering. A person exists online not physically, but in the form of a digital identity that consists of profiles, photographs, contacts, communication style, and habits. It is this identity that attackers have learned to copy with high accuracy.
Digital identity as a technological construct
In the digital environment, a personality is not a passport or a face, but a set of data. A name in a profile, an avatar, message history, contact list, email address, phone number — all of this shapes the perception of a person. Most of this data users voluntarily publish on social networks, messengers, or websites. Technologically, this is already enough to create a convincing copy of a real person without hacking accounts or using complex attacks.
A real example of identity impersonation in Ukraine
The danger of such schemes was publicly warned about by the head of the online fraud prevention department of the Cyberpolice Department of the National Police of Ukraine, Oleksandr Ulianenkov. According to him, fraudsters have begun to массово use the names and photographs of public officials as part of a new financial scheme. The attackers create profiles using real photos of officials and, on their behalf, send messages in messengers asking to urgently borrow money. This scheme is actively spreading online.
Why a familiar face works better than technical attacks
The calculation of fraudsters is simple yet effective. When a person sees a well-known face of a public official, trust is triggered automatically. It was exactly this type of social engineering that attackers used by exploiting the image of the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, Maksym Kozytskyi, as well as other representatives of local authorities. The messages contain no technical errors or suspicious links, are written in correct language, and often appeal to urgency. This makes identity impersonation difficult to detect even for attentive users.
Technological reasons behind the difficulty of detecting fakes
From a technical point of view, most platforms do not have strict identity verification. Registration in a messenger or email service is often limited to confirming a phone number or an email address. If a fraudster creates an address similar to a legitimate one or uses a popular domain with a minimal difference in spelling, the system does not see this as a problem. For users, such differences are almost imperceptible, especially on mobile devices.
Identity impersonation as a combination of technology and psychology
It is important to understand that modern online fraud rarely relies exclusively on technical vulnerabilities. In most cases, attackers do not hack systems but bypass them by working directly with people. Messages may come from abroad or from temporarily uncontrolled territories, as noted by the cyberpolice, and spread through various messengers and email. Technology creates an illusion of authenticity here, while the final decision to transfer money is made by the victim themselves.
How digital hygiene reduces the risks of impersonation
Cyberpolice recommendations come down to basic but important technological steps. Proper device settings allow suspicious messages to be automatically filtered into spam, while careful analysis of the sender’s address, the style of the text, and embedded links helps identify a fake. Minimizing one’s own digital presence also plays a significant role. The less personal data is published in open access, the harder it is for attackers to assemble a complete fake profile.
Why technical authenticity is more important than visual trust
One of the key mistakes users make is relying on external signs of familiarity. Photos, names, or logos inspire trust, while technical markers of authenticity are often ignored. This is where secure connections and verification of website authenticity play an important role, especially when users enter their data or make payments.
SSL certificates as basic protection against digital forgeries
In the context of identity impersonation, an SSL certificate is not just an element of encryption but one of the few objective indicators of a resource’s authenticity. It confirms that the user is interacting with the exact website it claims to be, rather than a fake page created to collect logins, passwords, or payment data. In a world where visual images are easily copied, technical verification of authenticity becomes the foundation of digital security and helps reduce the risk of falling victim to fraud.
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