The Nigerian prince's new gig: X location feature reveals new scam

In a faraway realm where the sun sets over the savannas of Africa and rises beyond the Himalayan foothills of India, a mysterious figure roams the digital winds

But it could also just be a scammer asking you for money by posing as your favorite X influencer

Over the weekend, X rolled out its About This Account feature globally

letting users click any profile to see username changes, account location, and how they connect

to X. X's head of product called it an important first step to securing the integrity of the global

town square. But the location aspect has sparked a wave of backlash after users found many MAGA

aligned and other U.S. politics accounts weren't even based in the U.S. And it wasn't just political

accounts getting exposed. Another group may have been taking advantage of people too

Take content creator Cooking with Kaya, for example. She has millions of followers on both

TikTok and Instagram. An ex-account with a similar username posted her photos and videos

and racked up more than 300,000 followers with a bio that says DM for promo. Basically

pay them and they'll promote your goods. Similarly, after every photo or video of Kaya

the account replied pushing people to DM them to advertise products and it worked. A recent post

promoted an artist song Kaya has told her followers on Instagram to watch out for fake ex and Facebook accounts but that hasn stopped the person behind this one from using her name and likeness to get paid Until this weekend most of their 300 followers

probably had no idea, but one click into about this account shows it's based in Nigeria

Kaya is from the United States. Another example, a popular account called The Man Maker

who frequently posts what some critics call toxic dating tips and health advice for men

While there is no name tied to this account like Kaya's impersonator, the profile picture is of actor Jason Statham

Like the other account, this one's bio says DM to grow your ex account, and it promotes a substack and free newsletter

They have subscriptions set up, writing, let's make men great again, where people can pay $3 a month for growth tips, DM response, and personal guidance

But checking their info shows the account is based in India. They recently responded to the backlash, writing, quote, sign of low testosterone

You hate someone because of their location. The feature has been helpful in exposing certain accounts, but users say some locations have already changed and suspect people are logging back into X with American VPNs, meaning you might not be seeing where they're actually based

So if you plan on paying for a service, double check who you're paying or just save the money, it might be easier these days

For more on this story and others, head over to SAN.com or download our mobile app

I'm Kennedy Felton with Straight Arrow News