Fake Facebook accounts impersonated Big Tech CEOs like Tim Cook and Sundar Pichai
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A new fake account problem has recently bedeviled Facebook.
The Menlo Park, Calif. tech company's platform is reportedly filled with fraudulent accounts impersonating scores of Silicon Valley's most powerful executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
A search by Fox News on Friday found that most of the fake accounts, which apparently numbered in the dozens when Business Insider first reported the problem on Thursday, have since been removed by the social network.
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However, there were still a few that had not been taken down.
Although the business website did not find any evidence that the accounts were being used to scam unsuspecting users, they're obviously misleading and could be harnessed for criminal or illegal activity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Apple CEO Tim Cook is one of several tech executives being impersonated by users on Facebook. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
Facebook's policies ask users to go by their real names and verified, higher-profile users such as tech CEOs tend to have blue checkmarks next to their official profiles.
"We use sophisticated technology and reporting tools to detect accounts set up to impersonate other people. That's a clear violation of our policies and our teams are continually improving our technology and processes to keep imposter accounts like these off Facebook," Facebook said in a statement to Business Insider.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Early this year, Facebook estimated that as many as 116 million fake accounts exist on its platform.