New York investigates company accused of selling fake Twitter followers

Krusty · Jan 28, 2018

New York's chief prosecutor says the state is opening an investigation into a firm that allegedly sold millions of fake followers to social media users.

"Impersonation and deception are illegal under New York law," said Eric Schneiderman.

The company, Devumi, stands accused of stealing real people's identities, which it denies, according to the New York Times.

The paper linked the "follower factory" to a host of celebrity accounts.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42853067

ronjor · Jan 31, 2019

Firm That Sold Social Media Bots Settles With New York Attorney General

By Nicholas Confessore Jan. 30, 2019
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, announced a settlement on Wednesday with Devumi, a company that sold hundreds of millions of fake followers on Twitter and other social media platforms before going out of business last year.
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guest · Oct 22, 2019

FTC settles with Devumi, a company that sold fake followers, for $2.5M
October 22, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/22/f...-a-company-that-sold-fake-followers-for-2-5m/

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has put an end to the deceptive marketing tactics of Devumi, a company that sold fake indicators of social media influence — like Twitter followers, retweets, YouTube subscribers and views, and more — which was also the subject of a 2018 investigation by The New York Times into the world of social media fraud.

The FTC says it reached a $2.5 million settlement with Devumi’s owner and CEO German Calas, Jr., which requires the first $250,000 to be paid, with the rest deferred unless it’s discovered that Calas has misrepresented his financial situation.
According to the Times’ investigation, Devumi had made millions selling fake social media influence to celebrities, businesses or anyone else who wanted to appear more popular online. The company at the time of the report had operated a stock of at least 3.5 million bots (automated accounts), and had sold its customer base over 200 million Twitter followers, combined.
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