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How to report an impersonating account on facebook & instagram.

Have you come across a Facebook or Instagram account that is pretending to be someone else? Here's how you can report impersonating accounts.

Fake accounts have become a massive problem on social media websites like Facebook and Instagram , but thankfully, both platforms allow users to report impersonating accounts . From stealing profile pictures to getting fake followers, hackers and bad actors have become experts at impersonating others on social media platforms. Although users cannot always avoid encountering an impersonator, they can inform the respective platforms to take necessary action.

Users can report an impersonating account on Facebook via the platform's web and mobile versions. First, let's talk about the steps for reporting through Facebook's web version. Head to Facebook's website, sign in, and go to the fake profile or page. Then click on the three dots below the cover photo, and select ' Find support or report profile' to inform about a fake profile or ' Find support or report Page ' to report a Facebook Page . Next, follow the on-screen instructions to file a report for impersonation.

Related: How To Add A GIF To Your Instagram Comment

Report Imposters Using The Platforms' Apps

The steps to report an imposter via Facebook for Android and iOS are the same. On the Facebook app, open the fake profile, tap the three dots below the cover photo, select ' Find support or report profile, ' and provide any additional details that the app might ask. To report a page, open the impersonating page, tap the three dots below the cover photo, and select ' Find support or report page. ' On the following screen, tap on ' Scams and fake Pages ' and select the option that describes the page. Tap on ' Next ' and follow any on-screen instructions to report the page successfully.

Those who don't have a Facebook account can also report an imposter by filling out a form provided on the support page. Similarly, users can also report fake accounts on Instagram . Open the fake Instagram account via the mobile app, tap on the three dots in the top right corner of the screen, hit ' Report ,' and select ' Something about this account. ' Under ' What do you want to report about this account, ' press ' They are pretending to be someone else. '

If the fake account is pretending to be a public figure or business, Instagram asks for the original account of the person or company as well. Unlike Facebook, Instagram asks for a government-issued identity card to report impersonating accounts. Further, the platform only accepts reports " from the person who's being impersonated or a representative of the person who's being impersonated. " For instance, parents can report if someone is impersonating their children on Instagram .

More: How Instagram Broadcast Channels Work (And Should You Join Them?)

Source: Facebook , Instagram

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I Got an Email Related to Someone Impersonating Me on Facebook. What Should I Do?

Opportunities for confusion and deception..

by Leo A. Notenboom

Mistake? Probably.

Did it do any harm? Probably not. It depends on what you did next.

Here’s the thing, though: those two events — impersonation and that email — are very likely completely unrelated .

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Facebook Impersonation

Facebook impersonation accounts don’t mean you’ve been compromised. Simply report them as fake to Facebook. Phishing emails can happen at any time. Because it appeared at the same time as the impersonation, it might seem more legit, but it’s not. Don’t click on the links in the email, but secure your account by going to it directly and checking for issues. As always, use two-factor authentication if at all possible.

Impersonation

Anyone can create a Facebook account using your name and the photos you’ve posted publicly.

It does not mean your account was hacked. It doesn’t mean they know your email address or anything else about you. All they did was create a new account using your name and perhaps a few photos stolen from your account. They probably used their own email address or a fake one.

Could Someone Set Up a Fake Facebook Account in My Name? goes into more detail, but the bottom line is that you, and perhaps your friends, need to report the fake account as impersonating you. Eventually Facebook should remove it.

Reporting the fake account is all you can do.

For more on detecting phishing attempts you might encounter, see Phishing: How to Know It When You See It .

The email you received was probably just coincidentally timed with the impersonation you’re dealing with. 1

Phishing attempts are constant , and I’m sure you’ve seen many already. They try to look legitimate and pose some kind of problem you need to act on right away. By clicking the link provided in the email, you’re taken to a fake webpage that looks like a sign-in page. Rather than signing you in, it just collects your username and password for the hacker .

If all you did was click the link to display the fake webpage, chances are nothing bad has happened. Run an anti-malware scan, but delivering malware is rarely the point of these attempts. They’re really about collecting your sign-in information. As long as you did not provide that, you’re probably just fine. If you did, then you should assume your account has been hacked, and immediately take steps. This article on email hacks has steps applying to most all types of accounts: My Email Is Hacked, How Do I Fix It? – 7 Things You Need to Do NOW!

If you find someone impersonating you or someone you know on Facebook (or on any social media), report that fake account . It may help to enlist your friends or contacts to also report the fake account — just take care to report the fake one, not your real one.

If you get email that is unexpected and looks official, but asks you to do something like verify an account, think twice about clicking the link. Instead, visit the service directly and check your account profile or messages for any information. Chances are there’ll be nothing there, and you can safely ignore the fake message.

Of course, changing your password never hurts if you’re the least bit concerned. Adding two-factor authentication to any account that supports it is also a good idea to prevent account compromise.

And subscribe to Confident Computing ! Less frustration and more confidence, solutions, answers, and tips in your inbox every week.

Related Questions

What do i do if someone is pretending to be me on facebook.

If someone is pretending to be you on Facebook, report the fake account. Visit the profile, click the ellipsis (…) below the photo, and click Block or Report.

Is it illegal to impersonate someone on Facebook?

Depending on where you are located, it may be illegal to impersonate someone on Facebook, but that’s not true everywhere. At the least, it’s against Facebook’s terms of service. Begin by reporting the impersonating account to Facebook. If there are legal implications, check with the authorities in your area to determine if you have legal recourse.

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Footnotes & References

1 : I can see a coordinated effort as being possible: get the impersonating account on your radar to spook you and then target you with a phishing attempt that seems related. This would require more individual focus than most attackers bother with.

3 comments on “I Got an Email Related to Someone Impersonating Me on Facebook. What Should I Do?”

i once got PMs on FB from a friend advising me about a government program grant claiming i could get $25,000 that i wouldn`t have to pay back. this was completely out of character for my friend so i did a snip of the PM and asked her about it on her real account. she was shocked. i advised her to change her FB settings so only she could see her friends list, and report it herself.

If you actually got it from that friend’s account , their account had likely been hacked. If you got it from a different account using that friend’s name, then it’s more likely a case of impersonation.

Hiding your friends list from all but yourself is a great way to prevent this kind of thing from happening. Someone could still create a fake account, but without having access to their friends list, they wouldn’t have anyone to send friend requests to. And without access to the friends list, the impersonator might not even bother to create a fake account.

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How to Deal with Social Media Impersonation

A fake social media account is typically created to impersonate or misrepresent real identities . These accounts can be based on entirely fictitious characters or involve the unauthorized use of real people’s information – most often their profile picture and name. Fake or imposter accounts serve various nefarious purposes. For instance, they might be used to deceive and extort money from unsuspecting followers, spread misinformation , or harass individuals online.

The creation of these accounts often involves stolen or fabricated identity details like names, photographs, and other personal information. Cybercriminals frequently employ automated bots and, more recently, artificial intelligence to generate these fake profiles en masse, which can then be used for activities ranging from spam distribution to manipulating public opinion.

Recently, the scale of this issue has been highlighted by significant actions taken by major platforms; for example, in the first quarter of 2022 alone, Facebook addressed 1.6 billion fake accounts. This underscores the pervasive challenge that fake accounts pose, not only to individual users but also to the integrity and reliability of social media ecosystems.

Ways to Identify Fake Accounts

Profile and activity indicators.

• Profile Completeness : Check for a lack of detail in work history and personal information . Fake accounts often lack comprehensive details that are typical of genuine profiles.
• Profile Photos : Be wary of generic or low-resolution images . Scammers frequently use stock photos or images sourced from the internet. Running the profile picture through search engines can help verify its origin. In our experience, profile photos are most often copied.
• Connections and Activity : A low number of connections , especially with no mutual connections in related fields, can be a red flag. We have found that if the account shows an unusually high number of endorsements or followers , it might be artificially inflated, suggesting the use of bots or paid followers.

Content and Interaction Patterns

• Content Quality : Pay attention to the kinds of posts shared. Fake accounts may spread false information , post excessive memes , stock photos, or promotional content that seems too good to be true .
• Engagement : Look at the interaction levels. Genuine accounts usually engage consistently with their audience. Large differences in follower count across different platforms, or a lack of interaction from followers can indicate a fake account.
• Comments and Messages : Be suspicious of profiles that leave generic comments or send messages that are out of context . Scammers often use strings of emoji or nonsensical statements to engage users.

Verification and Consistency Checks

• Historical Consistency : Check how long the profile has been active and whether it maintains consistent identity and activity levels over time. New profiles with high activity levels should be approached with caution.
• Cross-Platform Verification : Conduct searches across different social media platforms and search engines to identify any imposter accounts. Comparing the account details with those found on official websites or other verified platforms can help confirm authenticity.

Reporting to Facebook

Initiating a report on facebook.

• Identifying the Impersonating Account : If you encounter a profile or page that impersonates you, someone you know, or a public figure, it’s crucial to locate the specific profile or page. If the impersonating profile is not immediately visible, try searching by the name used on the profile or page, or ask friends to share a direct link.
• For a profile: Click on the three dots below the cover photo and select ‘Find support or report profile’.
• For a page: Click on the three dots below the cover photo and choose ‘Find support or report Page’.
• Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the report, selecting impersonation as the reason for your report.
• Alternative Reporting Methods : If you do not have a Facebook account or can’no’t access your account, you can still report an impersonating page or profile. Use the dedicated contact form provided by Facebook to submit your report.

Other Considerations

• Accuracy of Reporting : Ensure the accuracy of your report by double-checking that you are reporting the correct account, especially in cases where multiple users might share similar names.
• Potential Outcomes : Be aware that reporting a fake account does not guarantee its removal, as Facebook evaluates each report against its community guidelines and moderation policies (we are suspicious of this being the truth all of the time).
• Preferred Reporting Platform : For a more comprehensive set of reporting options, it’s advisable to use the desktop or web version of Facebook, as the mobile app may not provide all right functionalities for reporting.

By following these steps, you can effectively report and help mitigate the issue of social media impersonation on Facebook, contributing to a safer online community.

Reporting Fake Accounts to Instagram

Initiating a report on instagram.

• Locate the Impersonating Account : Navigate to the impersonating account on Instagram and click on the ‘…’ menu located at the top right corner of the profile.
• Begin the Reporting Process : Select ‘Report’ and then choose ‘This profile is pretending to be someone else’ to initiate the report.
• Provide Detailed Information : When reporting, it’s crucial to provide specific details and evidence to support your claim, such as screenshots of the imposter’s account or messages that demonstrate the impersonation.

Options for Non-Account Holders and Representatives

• Non-Account Holder Reporting : If you don’t have an Instagram account, you can still report impersonation by filling out a dedicated form available at https://help.instagram.com/contact/1652567838289083 .
• Authorized Representatives : If you are authorized to represent someone who is being impersonated, you can report the account using a special form designed for representatives.

After Reporting: Ensuring Account Security and Raising Awareness

• Securing the Real Account : To prevent further impersonation, secure the legitimate Instagram account by enabling strong passwords and two-factor authentication. Regular monitoring of account activity is also advised. This will not stop someone from copying your profile picture though.
• Informing Followers : Make a post or story on the legitimate Instagram account to inform followers about the impersonation, helping them to recognize and report any suspicious activity.
• Continuous Vigilance : Stay vigilant and keep an eye out for any further impersonation attempts. Promptly report them to Instagram to ensure quick action is taken.

By following these steps, you can address and mitigate the issue of social media impersonation on Instagram. Results are never guaranteed though.

Reporting to Twitter

Initiating a report on twitter.

• Locate the Impersonating Account : To begin the reporting process on Twitter, visit the Twitter Help Center and select “I’d like to report impersonation on Twitter”. This will guide you through the steps to identify and report the account in question.
• Complete the Reporting Form : Provide detailed information about the impersonating account. It’s important to include specific examples that illustrate the impersonation, such as tweets that misuse your identity or falsely represent your brand.

Twitter’s Impersonation Policy

• Policy Against Misleading Identities : Twitter strictly prohibits the use of misleading and deceptive identities. This includes the impersonation of individuals, groups, or organizations with the intent to deceive.
• Trademark Violations : If an account is misusing trademarks or brand names, companies can file a complaint under Twitter’s trademark policy to protect their intellectual property.

Actions and Consequences

• Investigation and Actions : Twitter investigates all reports of impersonation. If an account is found to violate Twitter’s rules, actions such as modifying the profile, suspension, or even permanent removal may be taken.
• Preventive Measures : To secure your own account, Twitter recommends using features like blocking and muting. These tools help manage who can interact with you and how you are exposed to potential impersonators.
• Reporting as a Bystander : If you notice impersonation that affects someone else, you can report it directly from the impersonating account’s profile. This helps in curbing deceptive practices on the platform and protects the community.

Twitter’s commitment to authenticity is reinforced by their detailed guidelines and responsive actions against violations, ensuring a trustworthy environment for all users.

Reporting to LinkedIn

Initiating a report on linkedin.

• Desktop Reporting : Navigate to the member’s profile you wish to report. Click the More icon, then select Report or block . Choose Report content on profile , select Profile information , and then Suspicious, spam, or fake . Specify it as a Fake account and click Submit .
• Mobile Reporting : On the mobile app, tap the More icon next to the update. Choose Report or block , select Suspicious, spam, or fake , then Fake account , and finally click Submit .

Completing LinkedIn’s Reporting Form

• When reporting inaccuracies related to employment or education on a profile, use LinkedIn’s specific form. You’ll need to provide the link to the profile , mention the inaccurate details , explain how you know these details are incorrect , and include your digital signature for verification .

Understanding LinkedIn’s Policies and Reporting Suspicious Activities

LinkedIn enforces a strict no-tolerance policy towards spam, inappropriate behavior, scams, and misinformation. If you encounter suspicious activities, it’s advised to flag the profile, block the user to prevent further interactions, and report any suspicious messages directly through LinkedIn’s reporting tools. This proactive approach helps maintain the integrity and professionalism of the platform.

Protection from Fake Social Accounts

Strengthening your account security.

• Implement Robust Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication : To fortify your accounts against unauthorized access, it’s essential to use strong, unique passwords combined with two-factor authentication (2FA). This significantly reduces the risk of impersonation and unauthorized account access.
• Regular Monitoring and Privacy Settings Review : Keep a vigilant eye on your account activities and regularly update your privacy settings. This helps in early detection of any suspicious activities and prevents personal data exposure.
• Educate and Inform : Whether it’s for personal use or your business, educating yourself and others about the risks of social media impersonation is crucial. Regular training sessions for employees on cybersecurity can drastically reduce the risk of impersonation. Additionally, making your customers aware of your official social media handles can prevent them from falling prey to imposters.

Legal and Proactive Measures

• DMCA and Legal Actions : If your content, like photographs or proprietary media, is misused, consider sending a DMCA takedown notice. For severe cases, involving identity theft or financial fraud, reporting to law enforcement and consulting with a content removal attorney might be necessary.
• Verification and Trademark Registration : Getting verified on social platforms adds a layer of authenticity and trust to your profile, making it harder for impersonators to succeed. Moreover, registering trademarks protects your brand identity and gives you legal grounds to act against violations.

Continuous Vigilance and Reporting

• Monitor and Report : Use automated tools to monitor your social media presence across different platforms. This helps in quickly identifying and responding to impersonation attempts. Always report any suspicious activities or impersonation to the respective social media platform and, if necessary, to the U.S. government or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• Personalize Security Settings : Set your profiles to private, minimize the sharing of sensitive personal information, and be cautious of phishing attempts. Always pause and think before sharing anything online that might compromise your safety or privacy.

Key Takeaways

OK, so we’ve navigated the complexities of identifying, reporting, and mitigating social media impersonation across various platforms. We started from the initial steps of spotting fake profiles using specific indicators and content patterns to the steps for reporting fake accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

You’ve probably heard this too much, but continued vigilance and education on the dynamics of online impersonation are really important for maintaining a secure digital presence. Implementing strong passwords, activating two-factor authentication (2FA), and educating yourself and others about the risks are foundational steps in this ever-evolving battle.

1. What should you do if you discover someone is impersonating you on social media? If you find that someone has created a fake social media profile pretending to be you, start by taking screenshots of the profile and any associated activities. It’s important not to contact or engage with the impersonator directly to avoid alerting them. Inform your friends and followers about the situation so they remain cautious. Finally, the impersonation can be reported to the social media platform through their dedicated support channels.

2. What is social media impersonation? Social media impersonation, also known as online identity theft or digital impersonation, involves someone creating a fake online persona to deceive others. This act of impersonation can appear in various ways, such as setting up fake social media profiles.

3. How should you respond if someone is using your identity online? If your account has not been compromised, you should take several steps to address the impersonation. Report the fraudulent account to the social media platform immediately. Make a public post if necessary to alert your friends and network about the impersonation. Address any defamatory content or identity theft legally and appropriately. Avoid extensive interactions with the impersonator and implement measures to safeguard against future impersonations.

4. Do platforms actually remove fake or impersonating social media profiles? It depends on the platform. The web is full of complaints about Facebook and other social media platforms doing nothing about impersonators. While Facebook has removed millions of fake accounts, the general feeling is that, more often than not, reporting a profile results in no action. The dreaded “We didn’t remove the profile” message. Nevertheless, it is worth a try.

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A Life Overtaken by Conspiracy Theories Explodes in Flames as the Public Looks On

Friends of Max Azzarello, who set himself on fire outside Donald J. Trump’s trial, said he was a caring person whose paranoia had led him down a dark path.

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By Michael Wilson ,  Tracey Tully and Jan Ransom

The journey that ended with a man setting himself on fire on Friday outside the Manhattan courthouse where Donald J. Trump was being tried seemed to have begun in Florida, with a series of increasingly bizarre outbursts.

Standing in the afternoon chill, the man, Max Azzarello, 37, of St. Augustine, Fla., threw pamphlets into the air before dousing himself with an accelerant and setting his body ablaze. The police hurried to extinguish the flames, and he was taken to a hospital burn unit, gravely injured. He died on Friday night.

The fire just a block or two from the courthouse appeared calculated to draw widespread attention, horrifying bystanders and temporarily overshadowing the momentous trial of a former president.

But a closer look at the path the man had traveled to this moment of self-destruction revealed a recent spiral into volatility, one marked by a worldview that had become increasingly confusing and disjointed — and appeared to be unattached to any political party. His social media postings and arrest records suggest the immolation stemmed instead from a place of conspiracy theories and paranoia.

Until last summer, Mr. Azzarello seemed to have lived a relatively quiet life. After high school, where he was a member of a bowling team, he graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009, with degrees in anthropology and public policy.

As a student at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., where he received a master’s degree in city and regional planning in 2012, he was known for leaving supportive Post-it notes for classmates in the hallways and for his karaoke performances of Frank Sinatra and Disney tunes, said a former classmate, Katie Brennan.

“He was super curious about social justice and the way things ‘could’ be,” Ms. Brennan said. “He was creative and adventurous.”

He began a career in which, according to his LinkedIn profile, he moved among jobs in marketing, sales and technology. In 2013, he worked on the campaign of Representative Tom Suozzi of Long Island, who was then running for Nassau County executive.

An old friend from high school, Steven Waldman, called Mr. Azzarello one of the smartest people he knew.

“He was a good friend and person and cared about the world,” he said.

But there was cause for concern, too.

By last year, he had apparently settled in St. Augustine, where he lived in a modest apartment near the Matanzas River in that historic city. He was a pleasant if sometimes peculiar neighbor.

“An extremely nice person,” said Larry Altman, the property manager at his apartment building, who added: “He had political views that I would not consider mainstream. He called our government and the world government a Ponzi scheme.”

But there were no signs that he was harboring an urge to harm himself, Mr. Altman said.

“If you met Max, he’d shake your hand, and you’d have a nice conversation,” he said. “He’d treat you with respect.”

He was clearly deeply affected by the loss of his mother, however. Elizabeth Azzarello died on April 6, 2022, near Sea Cliff, N.Y., on Long Island, where she had fought pulmonary disease, Mr. Azzarello wrote on Instagram in April 2022.

“I am immensely proud to say that she navigated the awful challenges of this disease with strength, dignity and spirit through the very end,” he wrote.

After this loss, his old friends saw a change. “That was around the time when he became more outspoken,” Mr. Waldman said. “They were close, and they had a good relationship. He was heartbroken.”

By the following year, the clarity Mr. Azzarello had shown in writing of his grief was gone, and a troubled image emerged.

In March 2023, he listed his profession on LinkedIn as “Research Investigator,” self-employed. In June of that year, he tagged Ms. Brennan and several others to make sure they had seen something he had written. She described it as a “manifesto” and called him immediately and tried to intervene. Eventually she wrote to one of his family members to make sure that they were aware that he was in crisis, she said.

About five months later, in early August 2023, he posted on Facebook about visiting a mental health treatment facility: “Three days in the psych ward, and all I got were my new favorite socks.”

Days later, in picturesque St. Augustine, he went for dinner at the Casa Monica Hotel on Cordova Street. Afterward, Mr. Azzarello walked into the lobby, approached an autograph left by former President Bill Clinton, who had signed the wall several years earlier, and threw a glass of wine at it, the police said. He admitted what he had done to officers, the police said. The episode was most likely written off as one man’s bad night.

Two days later, he was back, standing outside the hotel in just his underwear, ranting and cursing into a bullhorn, the police said. And just three days after that, he vandalized a sign outside a nearby United Way office before climbing into the bed of a stranger’s truck and rifling its contents, the police said.

All these events played out within walking distance of the apartment where even his most far-afield views had only recently been delivered politely.

In the months that followed, Mr. Azzarello promoted his disjointed preoccupations in a document he posted on Facebook. The pages attacked fascism and the general complacency of the public. They espoused general anti-government sentiment but did not seem directed at a discernible political party.

“Like frogs in water coming to a boil, the public didn’t notice the rotten truth behind the illusion of freedom,” the writings state. The man who had written fondly of his mother just a year earlier — “gracious and warm, silly and catty, compassionate and supportive” — and their time together seemed to have disappeared.

His greatest vexation appeared to be cryptocurrency, which he cast as a threat to humanity.

It was unclear when he arrived in New York, taking a room at the Soho 54 Hotel on Watts Street in Lower Manhattan and making his way to the running sideshow outside the downtown criminal courthouse.

The area he chose, Collect Pond Park, has been an on-and-off stage for supporters and opponents of Mr. Trump for months. Mr. Azzarello was there by Thursday, holding a sign and speaking in ways that, perhaps bizarre elsewhere, fit in with the disparate voices of the park.

On Friday, the crowd in the park had thinned. At about 1:35 p.m., people began to scream. A blur followed: a man on fire, bright flames licking his clothing and hair; officers scrambling over barricades; a departing ambulance.

His oldest friends were left struggling to make sense of this act.

“He was kind and a gentle soul,” said Carol Waldman, the mother of his childhood friend. “A real wonderful, terrific young guy. Who had his whole life ahead of him.”

If you are having thoughts of suicide, you can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Nate Schweber , Stefanos Chen , Nichole Manna , Nicholas Fandos , Chelsia Rose Marcius and Claire Fahy contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.

Michael Wilson , who covers New York City, has been a Times reporter for more than two decades. More about Michael Wilson

Tracey Tully is a reporter for The Times who covers New Jersey, where she has lived for more than 20 years. More about Tracey Tully

Jan Ransom is an investigative reporter on the Metro desk focusing on criminal justice issues, law enforcement and incarceration in New York. More about Jan Ransom

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan took a startling turn when two jurors were abruptly excused , demonstrating the challenge of picking citizens to determine the fate of a former president.

Prosecutors argued in court that with a steady stream of social media posts, Trump had violated the gag order  imposed on him seven times, urging the judge overseeing the trial to hold him in contempt.

Our reporter joined “The Daily” to explain what happened during the opening days  of the trial against Donald Trump.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know, and what we don’t know .

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