There are many false prophets and leaders in the world and there will be many more in the days ahead.
The easiest way to spot a false prophet or leader: they will try to make you believe things. They will speak convincing words to you; they will try to 'sell' you something; they will try to convince you of the future; they will promise you things; they will try to convince you of things that no one can see. They will try to make you believe things. Stay away from them.
As an example, I watched a video of the false prophet Benny Hinn who told his congregation, "Only those who have been giving to God's work would be spared". He then told the congregation where to write the checks and how to submit a credit card payment.
As another example, there are many street prophets with microphones and bullhorns in major cities in the US. They will try to convince you of things. An example is the Black Hebrew Israelites - who shout to black Americans that they are descendants of ancient Israelites, so that their words are sweet to the ear, so that black Americans join the religion. They offer the promise of salvation (and who knows what else) if they follow the rules and laws of the book. (This isn't to say that there aren't some Americans who descend from ancient Israelites, but outside of a DNA test, this is impossible to know. And if you know that some of your DNA sequences match those from people of ancient Israel, it is just knowledge, nothing more. It's literally just an FYI. A man on the corner with a microphone trying to convince you otherwise is your proof that he is a false leader.)
Stay away from them.
The only One who can promise you salvation is the One who can save you.
Our ancestors clung to the heels of false prophets and leaders, and now they are parked six feet under - none of them were saved.
