Someone is using your photos on a fake account

First, lock down the evidence

Fake accounts vanish: the impersonator deletes them when challenged, or the platform removes them after a report and takes the evidence with it. Before you do anything else, capture what exists.

1. 01Screenshot the profile, including the username, the URL, the bio, the follower count and the date you took the screenshot.
2. 02Screenshot every post and message that uses your photos or your name, and any messages the account has sent to people you know.
3. 03Copy the exact profile URL into a note. Usernames change; the numeric ID in the URL usually does not.
4. 04Ask the person who alerted you to send their screenshots too, especially if the account contacted them.
5. 05Write down the timeline: when you first heard, from whom, and what the account has done. Reports, bank disputes and police complaints all ask for it.

Find every copy, not just the one you were sent

An impersonator rarely stops at one account. The same photos appear on a second profile when the first is removed, on a dating app you do not use, or on a site you have never heard of. A reverse face search matches your face across different photos and pages, so one search shows you the whole spread. Reporting all of it at once is faster than chasing accounts one by one for months.

1. 1

   Search with the photo the impersonator is using

   Upload a copy of the stolen photo itself, cropped to your face, on the search page. This finds other places the same photo, or other photos of you, appear.

2. 2

   Search again with a different photo of yourself

   Impersonators often take several photos from one account. A second, different photo of you catches the ones the first missed.

3. 3

   Run a deep search

   A deep search covers more public sources and takes longer. It needs an account and a deep credit. For an active impersonation it is worth the extra pass.

4. 4

   List the pages that are not yours

   Open each source page. Separate your own accounts and legitimate galleries from pages where your face is used under another name or for another purpose. Keep the URLs.

5. 5

   Report each one through its own platform

   Use the table below. Attach the screenshots from the first step and a photo of your ID where a form asks for it.

Report to each platform

Every major platform has a dedicated impersonation report that is separate from the general report button on a post. Use the dedicated one; it goes to a team that handles identity, not spam. The fake profile reporting guide walks through each form with screenshots.

When to involve the police

Impersonation alone is a platform matter in most countries. It becomes a police matter when the account is used to commit another offence. Report to the police, with your evidence, when any of these is true:

• Extortion or threats. The account, or whoever runs it, demands money or demands that you do something, or threatens to publish images.
• Fraud in your name. The account solicits money, sells goods, or signs people up for anything while pretending to be you. Tell your contacts not to pay, and report the fraud to the national body as well.
• Harassment or stalking. The account targets you, your family or your colleagues, or continues after removal.
• Intimate images. Any sexual image of you shared without consent is a criminal offence in many jurisdictions; use StopNCII and the platform's dedicated form in parallel. See getting a photo taken down.
• You are under 18, or the images are of a minor. Report immediately, to the platform and the police.

Platform removal, Google removal and FaceSearch removal are different things

A platform report, when it succeeds, deletes the fake account and its posts. A Google removal request hides a page from Google results but leaves it online. FaceSearch's own removal process stops your face appearing in FaceSearch results; it does not touch the source pages, and other face search engines keep their own indexes. Each tool covers one layer. For a live impersonation, the platform report is the one that matters most; the others reduce how findable the leftovers are.

Protecting yourself afterwards

• Tell your contacts that a fake account exists, so nobody sends money or private information to it. A short public post on your real account works.
• Tighten the source. If the photos came from your public profile, consider making it private or trimming the public photos to ones you are comfortable being copied.
• Search again in a few weeks. Impersonators return with new usernames. A quick face search is the easiest way to catch the sequel early.
• Claim your name. Where a platform offers identity verification or a verified badge, use it; it makes your account the obvious original.
• Keep the evidence folder. If the account comes back, you can show the pattern and the earlier reports.