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.
? 70+ Ingenious DIY Projects You Need To Outlast Any Crisis
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:Â 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 to 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.
You may also like:
13 Ways To Keep Your House Cool In The Summer
How To Stockpile Antibiotics Without A Prescription Before It’s Too Late (Video)
The First Thing You Should Do After A Nuclear Attack
What Happens If You Smoke Garlic Cloves
