Savvy users and brands use audit tools (like Social Blade) to spot unnatural growth spikes.
The industry for "engagement services" operates through a variety of delivery methods:
Using the platform's actual ad manager (Meta Ads, YouTube Ads) to reach real people.
Buying engagement is a direct violation of most platform rules.
If 10,000 "people" view a video but leave after three seconds, the algorithm flags the content as low-quality and stops recommending it.