In the prepping world you need to be extremely strategic about who you choose to follow and trust.
This includes both the preppers you follow and learn from online or in books, as well as people you know in your life who may call themselves preppers.
In both circumstances, fake preppers can pose a major risk to you and your family. And as much as you may not want to hear it, fake preppers are a very real presence in the prepping community.
In this article, we’ll talk about fake preppers and who they are in greater detail.
Fake Preppers VS Genuine Preppers
A genuine prepper is somebody who is genuinely concerned about a potential upcoming disaster and is taking measures that will actually improve their chances of survival or their quality of life when SHTF.
Genuine preppers also strive to learn accurate and applicable knowledge that they can utilize in their prepping efforts.
A fake prepper is someone who calls themselves a ‘prepper’ but who in reality is not undertaking actions that will have any significant impact on their ability to survive or outlast a disaster.
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Fake preppers also often spread so-called prepping or survivalist knowledge that is not true.
In the process of that, fake preppers can mislead, either intentionally or unintentionally, other people who are trying to be genuine preppers.
What Are The Real Motivations And Hidden Agendas of Fake Preppers?
There are two circumstances where you will encounter people who call themselves preppers.
The first is people who’s books/articles you will read and videos you will watch online. The second is people you will personally encounter in your everyday life, including friends, family, neighbors, or individuals in a prepping community you’ve joined. It’s important to be on your guard in both of these circumstances.
To Gain Attention, Fame, Money
Fake preppers will often try to advertise themselves as preppers to gain attention. No, this does not mean that every single public figure on YouTube or publishing articles on prepping is fake. There is a lot of valuable information out there about how to prepare for disasters from reasonable, informed, and experienced individuals.
Rather, this simply means that fake preppers like to call themselves ‘preppers.’ These are people who are very inexperienced and lacking in knowledge when it comes to prepping, and yet they regularly and publicly call themselves preppers anyway.
Related: These 10 Types of People Will Die First When SHTF
They may do this to gain clout or status in their local communities, or they may put out ill-informed prepping content online to gain attention there.
Most genuine preppers will not advertise themselves as preppers for one very simple reason: when a disaster strikes, they don’t want people knowing about their preparations.
They don’t want their neighbors coming knocking on their door demanding food or supplies, and in the event of martial law, they don’t want military or law enforcement units coming to their door to confiscate what they have stockpiled either.
This is why when someone calls themselves a ‘prepper,’ you’ll want to listen very closely to their recommendations about how to prepare and put your filter to work for anything they say that may have a red flag on it.
To Make Themselves Feel Better About Themselves
This applies mainly to the fake preppers you will meet in your everyday life. Deep down, they may know that they are underprepared for a major disaster if it were to occur. To compensate for that, they call themselves prepper so they feel like they are doing something to get ready for an unexpected disaster.
The Risks of Fake Preppers
So what are the risks of fake preppers? There are two big risks in particular:
Spreading Bad Information
The biggest risk of fake preppers is listening to them and trusting what they say.
But fake preppers may put out poor information in regards to everything from how long certain foods can last to how to stockpile water to ensure it doesn’t go bad or how to defend a home against intruders and so on.
Fake preppers who spread bad information are ultimately putting other people who follow their advice at serious risk.
A Risk To Themselves
Fake preppers are just as much a risk to themselves as they are to other people.
As noted previously, fake preppers will often repeatedly call themselves preppers whether it’s online as part of a public persona or to members of their local community.
When disaster strikes and the supply shortage dries up, there will be a lot of people who know about these folks who call themselves preppers.
And naturally, these people, once they are hungry and in need of supplies and without resupply of food, water, or medicine, will straight to these fake preppers to take what they have.
It’s genuine preppers who are more wise and only make their preparations known to people within a very tight circle of trust.
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Up to this next presidential election there will be amazing things happening. The potential for WWII, the Ukrainian War, Middle East, Taiwan, 2A, terrorist actions because of the open Southern Border.
We also have the Supreme Court hijacked by the leftist. The Biden Marxist Black female judge, that is a blue pill progressive.
The SHEEPLE voted in Biden and the great society crime family to wreak America as we know it to be.
Disney and the university system is no longer for American. These are indoctrination centers for un-American activities unbecoming our future leaders.
You’re obviously a fake commenter.
most, 99% of the so called prepper websites are there only to sell stuff through their Amazon links, to fear monger the public into believing that if they don’t buy this you will die.
Modern Survival Blog is a good example.
money and personal info. do not give it to them!!!
I think one of the main threats of a fake prepper is is that maybe they want to get into your group and when this s*** really does hit the fan come and take your supplies. They contact you online and say that they’re a proper. You might even meet him a couple of times, and show them your preps when they come and visit your home. But you never actually get to see them at their home and their preps. And in turn they tried to gain your trust. Maybe they did intend to prep but just never got around to it, or maybe to them it was just a fad. But when the s*** does hit the fan what did they do? They come to your home where they know that you got food and preps and then try and embed themselves into your home to feed off of your hard work. It is true that they could be a danger by spreading bad information and making people think that they’re actually preppers, but I think that the most existential danger is that if they have been invited into your home that they might see what you have, then gravitate to your front door when society falls. If you want to start a prepping group do it with only friends and if anybody comes from out of your friend’s circle take it with a grain of salt, ask them the right questions and maybe even see if you can get invited to see their prep supplies. For the most part a lot of them do not really intend to cause harm, but they had this idea that once they’ve established themselves as a prepper amongst the community that they’ll be accepted as one and when it really does fall that they will have a spot at your table. That’s just my two cents.
I totally concur to what you said!! One has to be very careful who they talk to and to anything that would bring those type into your home! NEVER let someone know where things are!!! Or that you have a supply of anything!! I know from experience, my ex-brother-in-law and his new wife saw some of my canning and told me that they would come over and get some when things go bad!! Boy! do they have a surprise coming to them!!!!
I could care less about them – wouldn’t take them seriously in a thunderstorm much less for a serious SHTF >>> but a good 50% the current crop of prepper bloggers are nothing but opportunist re-hashers of other more legit prepper bloggers ….
and – I get a good laugh out of the ones that absolutely butcher a prepper topic – or – repeat AGAIN an old “prepper’s tale” that was never ever true or a valid prepper prep >>> you’d think the barest background steal of other blogger’s work would stop them from such a stupid obvious move ….
by far the largest segment of prepper fakers are online and became an overnite prepper genius – eazy to pick out the better bloggers – they initiate a new prepper topic with actual fact check and credibility – kudos to them ….
It was wonderful yesterday’s topic, no Trolls to ruin a great post on chicken pot pie.
We can start with the Marxist Trolls on this website. Lisa Black, Raven Tactic, the all knowing prepper, the radical Troll group. Those are the fake preppers.
Like Barb has said, it could be one lunatic using several names for a twisted view of important topics.
Fake preppers? They and other deceitful types will not survive the coming great correction. We should concern ourselves with how long our supplies will sustain us and our plans beyond their depletion. Recovery will not be in our lifetime, nor in our children’s lifetime. Recovery will depend on skills, community and spiritual connection. Teach your children well.
Fake preppers? How about a fake president Biden with fake election ballot votes?
Not too concerned with future preps. It’s the nutcases in the Witless-House who are messing up our current economy. The fake troll preppers swamping this sites comment section is plain nuts.
Fake prepper is anyone who worries about keeping their cell phone charged.
In a true SHTF scenario, a real prepper will skip the cell phone nonsense mainly because it is monitoring you and your location.
That is a dead giveaway that you have preps but are not out looking for supplies like non preppers are.
Remember, some preppers cannot afford that $250,000 worth of prepping supplies, LAND, gardening area, etc., far away from population areas, etc.
A prepper should have at least 3 months worth of supplies and access to water somewhere nearby. You cannot store 3 months worth of water for each person at 1 gal/day/person.
Women actually use 50% more water than men do.
Most people cannot do square foot gardening due to climate, space, location, sun/water availability, etc.
You would have a hard time growing enough calories for each person to need plus extra for lean times/bartering.
Fake preppers could be the wannabes, that have no stake in doing anything. They are takers, whiners, not givers to others such as participants in good topics here.
Everybody has a plan, everyone is a survivalist keyboard expert in the comfort of home. Until the real Disaster happens, than all those plans go to hell in a hand basket.
The modern day prepper is basically what the old pioneers did back in the 19th & 20th centuries to live. Except our tools are a little updated. Some old wives tales are debunked. But the spirit of survival remains the same.
The term SHTF is overrated, overused, it doesn’t have the same impact it once had.
I disagree about the cell phone. I have an old phone with no cell signal full of valuable articles and books. Many from this site. I keep it and a solar charger as a resource.
Yes you are a premature fake prepper relying on electronics that will crash and die when you need it. Not now but latter the phone drops, the screen is cracked.
Paper products are a better option, EMP doesn’t bother them. Unprotected cell phone will be effected by EMP’s. How many charges will the phone take before it goes kaput? Battery spares will be very limited to find.
Ah All Knowing… paper is great… when you have a house to store it.
But one old phone, with a charger, carefully wrapped in the bottom of a BoB can contain six or eight BOOKCASES worth of paper.
Food for thought.
why can you not store water for ninety days,.i store food and water for 4 people which would only be 360 gallons or about 8 fifty five gallon barrels
Another topic many of the silent majority don’t care for is the fake Bible Thumpers. Quote Bible verses to annoying Nosism. We keep the religious side to a private level and learn what the day’s topic is.
Fake preppers and Bible Thumpers king of degrade the website.
The reasons for having to be prepared are Biblical. Just like fake preppers there are false prophets. Listen, agree or disagree and make a decision. Casting the wide net is not wise in any hard times situation.
Oh great, another Bible thumper caught up in man’s religious rituals.
Reading the Bible, going to Sunday church and niceties don’t guarantee your going to heaven.
Two things to consider… 1. What to do when family – grown children and grand children who are wasteful come knocking looking for food & shelter. 2. The twilight zone -> The shelter. Year 3, third episode. True then, true now. What about my BABY?? Well worth finding and watching.
There is tough love method; TOO BAD!
The Ant and the Grasshopper fable or the Little Red Hen story. Where the Red Hen bakes bread, ask the farm animals for help. When the bread is down those lazy butts wanted a peace.
Just like the Welfare junkies, illegal freeloaders, drug addict homeless beg for handouts then hand-ups. Asking the American taxpayers to be socialist. When did America go from independence culture to a European dependency on big government?
Which president started it, president Roosevelt (D) ‘the social security act’ 1935. The other presidents probably Clinton, Obama, Biden to name a few modern day ones.
The Obama health insurance act that screwed up the health and insurance industries.
Yes we can blame our selves too for letting these things happen. The sheeple will always be manipulated to vote for insanity everyday.
It’s time for the grownups to retake our society back from government and corporate woke-ism. Bud lowlife beer is a bust, along with Torget an their gender garbage.
People have been misdirected with climate change and the Lgbq gender nonsense.
You tell a lie many times, people start to believe the fake truth.
At some point, one has to begin the new life of prepping. Newbies, whether peppers, gym folks, churchies, etc., have to begin somewhere.. . And naturally call themselves peppers, even if they only bought a 5 gallon bucket of rice or beans like I did. Prepping is a lifetime of honing our skills. In the Navy an E2 wasn’t expected to know what an E8 knew, preppers are no different. Calling a novice prepper a fake could certainly dissuade them from carrying on. I still don’t know what I don’t know. You too. Thanking God for this site.
I agree that calling a novice prepper a fake prepper will tend to discourage them. However, a novice prepper hopefully will ask more questions about how to do something, while a fake prepper will ask more questions about what you have. Using your E2-E8 analogy, unless busted down in rank, an E2 understands that questions have to be asked in order to learn the task at hand. While an E8 won’t want to take the time to explain, he will probably guide the E2 to someone that can train.
Our jobs, whether we have been prepping for years, or day, is to gain and share as much knowledge as possible. Even the most novice newbie may ask a question that will make a seasoned prepper re-assess his own prepping process. “Out of the mouth of babes” implies that truth or knowledge may come from uninformed sources.
One of my favorite stories comes from the movie My Name is Nobody. The story goes like this:
One cold and frosty morning in early Spring a young birdie lay on the ground shivering and nearly frozen.
A cow saw him there and decided to help the poor birdie out, and promptly covered him with a huge ‘cow pie’.
The defecation, while smelly was also very warm and soon the birdie was singing with all his might. The warmer he got the louder he began to sing.
About this time a coyote attracted by the singing, jumped out from behind a boulder and snatched the birdie from the pile and quickly devoured him.
The moral of the story is that not everyone who Shits on you is your enemy, not everyone that pulls you out of the shit is your friend, and if you are happy in a pile of shit keep your mouth shut.
Are we the birdie, the cow, or the coyote? When it comes to prepping, or anything else, your learning or teaching depends on the person you are talking to.
I have tried reaching out to friends/family about getting ready together on a piece of land – no one not one interested!!!! So, I have done all I can do by myself. Very disappointed, but yes, I am guessing they will come knocking when everything breaks down…………….not gonna answer the door.
Since the modern survival movement of the 1970’s has had a mystic about it.
They worried about the economy, hoarding gold and silver. Not sure about their food participation.
Even back in those days they still needed land which was just as expensive to buy into. In our present economy we see the petrol dollar being edged out by foreign interests like China.
We got illegals flooding everywhere in America. Thanks to the Biden government day/night plane flights and buses. Some places we thought were safe are not anymore. The Biden clan has made America unsafe from open borders.
People right now are living paycheck to paycheck. How do you expect to people can afford a plot of land in this economy currently.
Have survival skills is one part, affordability is another part of the equation.
Stop eating out and cut off cable tv. You will have plenty of money to stockpile essentials.
This is why I don’t call myself a prepper. I do my best to be emergency prepared as my budget, health, family (who think I’m crazy) and location allow.
Yes our family is grown and married, it’s just the two of us struggling in Biden’s economy. We are retired and just don’t have the money to move out to a less expensive State.
We laugh about going to Mexico, cross the border and get free government money. Then we could move anywhere.
Maybe the Supreme Court that knocked down Biden’s college loan buyback to buy votes. Could do something about seniors on the hook for taxes after a certain retirement age. We didn’t didn’t get any breaks why should those college graduates get a free loan ride? We senior taxpayers deserve more.
If ya voted for TRUMP yer RETARDED
Same thing for Biden, your moronic offensive fool. Taco from fromunda cheese breath.
Fake prepper, fake Mexican!
Yes same thing for Biden But why do you feel the need to put somebody down for not thinking the same way you do?
Yeah ! Love yoo Taco
Democrat
Destroying
Every
Mans
Original
Constitutional
Rights
And
Terrorizing
Democrat. Evil sludge on humanity.
The Fake Prepper Trolls here are Can’t Understand Normal Thinking Stupid.
I think the real/ fake dichotomy applies to many things. Many simply want an easy ride and will wilt when the rubber meets the road.
There are others who talk a good game but have not yet been tested. Some sound like blowhards who may be in for an unpleasant surprise once they’re in a situation which is NOT a drill.
A big part of it also in my opinion is that a lot of people see it like a game. Unlike the game where you can hit the reset button and start over, real life sometimes crushes you.
Maybe some fakes are wanting to convince themselves they’re capable or feel they need the kudos.
Having experienced some emergency situations in my life, I can say at least for myself, in an emergency, I’m too busy doing all I can to keep body and soul together to stop and give an atta boy because of a fragile ego.
Loose lips sink ships. It was true before, and true now.
Not an article in the best tradition of this forum. America is divided enough, why push people to further distance themselves from others who share the very real concern in how to deal with a collapse scenario. Sure security is a valid point, sure opsec is a valid concern, but harping fear porn is just not constructive. Not everyone is on the same page, not everyone is as evolved in their preps as others, that’s the reason for this forum, RIGHT ?
Why crap on others’ viewpoints ? Don’t agree, say as much, respectfully give your 2 cents, and move on. On the trolls issue, ever consider that some of the people posting here might be on Uncle Sam’s dime, seeking to plant seeds of division, ever think about that ?
Use your common sense, watch what you say and how you say it, respect others, and test out ideas before fully committing to undertaking something. Do your own due diligence and investigate on your own. And as to what dealing with a full scale collapse will be like, you can artificially experience it on your own, with a buddy, or a few friends.
Ever hear about SERE training ?
https://mybaseguide.com/sere-training
Head to a forest environment, ( that permits hunting ) with minimal equipment and food. Prepare to stay at least 2-3 weeks, you should learn to forage and hunt for food, deal with the climate element, and learn to survive on your own, without relying on supermarkets, a roof over your head, and other creature comforts of society. No propane stoves, or AR15’s, or four person tents, or kayaks, none of that stuff. Just a bow, a knife, and your wits. In a short time, you will learn what is truly important, what is essential for survival, and the bonus– you will hopefully learn how to adapt to circumstances on your own, without relying on anyone else.
Once you endure that, prepping will become second nature
to you.
OK not everyone can do that, some folks are in their 60’s, and can’t do that stuff. But go to the breaker box and shut down your electricity and gas. Learn to adapt to having to live with such constraints for a week. No candles, no smart phones. Create a food budget, establish how much food you require to meet minimum caloric intake
to survive, and you will be ready for a rationing situation before it happens. And yes you can go days without any food. Certain religions have fasting as a common pratice. Fasting helps cleanse the body. Did you know that cancer cells stop dividing during fasting. Going without food for a time is a natural healing method. Lose those extra pounds.
One last point keep ALL information regarding your life situation and your preps on a need to know. Do you really need to share some information with others ? Will sharing that information potentially put you at risk later on ?
Keep it short, keep it private, but don’t allow yourself to lose your humanity or the belief in the value of other human beings. We are all God’s creatures, but use common sense, and mainly keep your business to yourself.
Most articles are geared toward the 20 to 40 year old crowd. Not many survival websites have articles for the older crowd for learning survival. It’s a young man’s game.
Seniors don’t have the money to afford the bugout game or to buy a bugout location.
The seniors that are still active aren’t going to do tactics from the sere program.
But a good comment to think about for prepping.
Prepping is essentially preparation for meeting adverse conditions to survival. No age limit on that, but true enough, the older you are the closer you are to the pearly gates. I am 65, still strong, can go at least a week without food, ( given my most recent fast ) and can still muster to be out in the elements and survive in the northern latitudes where I live.
The biggest threat to survival is not an adversary, not the cold, the heat–it is one’s state of mind. Your biggest threat is yourself, your weaknesses: hubris, pride, arrogance, hatred, envy, and especially FEAR. Conquer those and a great deal of your battle for survival is assured. Be always on your guard, and expect the unexpected. Preparation is a state of mind first and foremost. Learn to be resilient and self-sufficient, the greater your skill set, the better your chances of not meeting your maker until a much later date.
Knowledge is power, but self awareness is
supreme in dealing with the threats directed at you.
You should know your adversary, but never neglect knowledge of self.
Many years ago I survived two months traversing a wilderness I had no prior knowledge of with nothing but a few tools in my backpack and my wits for company, so I can assure you that I speak from experience.
One last point, survival entails killing game, and that is an awful necessary at times. All creatures on this earth are awesome beings of great beauty and deserving of respect. Always keep that in mind, before you use any animal for your own needs, be thankful to God, our creator, and always offer your respect to the creatures that share our planet.
As a hunter, always ask for forgiveness in your prayers for that which you were forced to do to insure your own survival.
I live in an unincorporated area in Texas of starter homes on small acreage. My neighbors and I are not Preppers, but everybody has animals and gardens, most of us have backup power and water supplies, I imagine a lot of my neighbors have backup food supplies, me more than most. It being rural Texas it goes without saying that everybody is heavily armed. There are no county rules or HOA crap, most of us operate businesses out of our property, mechanical and construction trades. Not homesteaders, not Preppers, just a mixed bag of people who enjoy the lifestyle of doing for yourself. It took 5 years of serious looking before we found a place like this, you just have to husband your resources and be persistent. Country living is great!
Remember the policy about neighbors.
Don’t tell what you have.
“Asking turns to Begging.
Begging turns to Taking.”
Especially if they have kids.
The “Taking” could get Ugly.
I prefer to think of preppers in different terms…
Experienced folk who have lived through disasters.
Highly skilled not yet tested folk who have great skills in untested conditions.
Highly knowledgeable poorly skilled – book smarts basically who have read and consumed every bit of data but never lived a two year cycle of what they’ve learnt.
Want to know mores – people who have dipped a toe in, like to contemplate, but never really spent a huge amount of resource (time/effort etc) in it yet.
No where in that is ‘fake’ preppers. Yes, there’s people who are hunting social media likes or whatever, but the percentage of them is so small it’s not worth giving them a category. And no where in there is an assumption that they are preppers either – a lot of folk aren’t actively preppers but have the skills. When you are facing a genuine disaster is when you find the skills necessary – we’re all on the same boat together, rather than single some out as fake or fraud, why not identify who has what skills and work with whomever is there in the moment. Yes, stack that boat as best you can with the best team, but on the day, after the SHTF, whomever is standing is your new best buddy team… or you bug out away from them.
The majority here are hobbyist preppers. Like jum cobb living in the suburbs is a death sentence for you folks
I say Amen neighbor to that!
We live just a ways from ya, will meet ya soon. We can have a prep party.
I have not posted for a while. My thoughts on the matter, well I do not upon first meeting say Hi my name is Tom and I am a prepper for to reasons. The first reason many people look at you like you are a deranged gun toting lunatic and secondly I need to feel you out to see if we even have any values and ideals in common. Once we get to know each other then I would hope an information exchange will take place. I am not afraid to tell people that i am a prepper and several people know that i am. I do not hide it I hope to bring out that prepping for an uncertain future is a smart move and that it helps to alleviate some tension and apprehension about the future. Does it make me a target maybe but I at least try to get people to think , I have some that say I will just come to your house to which I reply ” I like a very dark shade of lipstick” meaning nothing is going to be free you will work it off one way or the other. I live in a suburb I dont think that is a death sentence. It has both good and bad qualities if you know your neighbors and network you can build a group and watch out for each other this is what I have done. You can choose to hide inside and play video games etc and let the world fall apart around you.
Jonesy, several years ago, I had a heating fuel guy make a delivery to my house. It was a sunny day, so I was using my solar oven.
He was fascinated by it and said, “I’m a prepper, and I’ve heard about these but have never seen one in real life ”
I showed him how it worked, told him it wasn’t cheap, but after a 3-day outage from a bad snow storm a few years earlier, I decided it was worth the cost to get a solar oven and really learn how to use it.
He nodded when I mentioned that storm and said it was a wakeup call for many in our region, as we had become complacent.
I agreed. It was the first and so far only time someone I didn’t know just popped right out front and center saying he was a prepper.
A local store sets up a prep table when storms are forecasted. Nothing fancy, just a long table near the front door that has matches, lanterns, lantern oil, headlamps, flashlights, batteries, hand and foot warmers. Lots of places around me lose power often during storms.
Feels great thanks
It appears that we all can point a finger toward an enemy, but know this; he is just as scared as you. Your enemy is that force telling you that your neighbor is your enemy. Keep on believing that and your enemy will laugh at your demise.
We live on a farm. The natural state of farming is to can, freeze, save, re-use, hunting, fleshing, using the skins, etc.
I don’t care about strange ideas or silly “prepper” fears. Just take care of it and move on.
Take care of your farm and it will take care of you. Take care of your neighbors and they will take care of you (spoken from experience here with us).