Impersonation and catfish accounts
Someone is pretending to be you
Fake profiles using your name and your photos are not just annoying. They take money from your fans, and the fans blame you. We find them, evidence them, and give you the route that actually gets them removed.
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Someone pretending to be you?
How impersonation monitoring works
We look for your name and face
Scans across the platforms impersonators use, for accounts trading on your stage name, your handles or your photographs.
You get the evidence
Each match comes with the profile, what it is using of yours, and when we found it. Screenshots and dates are what platforms actually act on.
And the report route
Impersonation is reported through each platform own process rather than by DMCA notice, so we give you the right form and the wording that works.
Your own accounts are protected
Your real profiles are recognised and never reported. A tool that cannot tell you from a fake is worse than no tool at all.
They come back, so we keep looking
Impersonators rebuild within days under a new handle. The scan keeps running, so the next one is found rather than stumbled upon.
Your real identity stays private
Copyright notices we file go out in our name, not yours. Impersonation reports have to come from you, because platforms require it, so the report text we prepare sticks to what the platform asks for.
Impersonation and copyright are two different problems
Most services treat every fake account as a takedown. It is not. If somebody has stolen your photographs, that is copyright, and a DMCA notice is the right tool. If somebody is using your name with their own photographs, there is no copyright claim to make at all, and a DMCA notice would be a sworn statement about work you do not own. That gets reports rejected, and it can get the account filing them penalised. We tell you which one you are looking at, and file accordingly.
Reporting a fake account on each platform
Every major platform has an impersonation report, and most also have a web form you can use without an account there. Report from your own verified account where you can: it is the strongest evidence the profile is not you.
Open the fake profile, choose Report, then the option for an account pretending to be someone, and say it is you. Instagram also has an impersonation form in its Help Centre for people without an account.
TikTok
On the fake profile, use Report, then the account option for pretending to be someone. TikTok also takes impersonation reports through a web form, which may ask for photo ID to confirm it is you.
X (Twitter)
From the profile menu, choose Report and the option saying the account is pretending to be you. X has an impersonation form in its Help Centre too, which is the route to use if you are not on X yourself.
Reddit takes impersonation reports through its report form, not just the report button on a post. Include the fake profile and a link to your real one.
Telegram
Open the fake account or channel, choose Report and the fake account option. If the channel is sharing your content rather than pretending to be you, that is a copyright problem: see our Telegram removal guide.
Everywhere else
Look for a report or safety link on the profile and an impersonation option. If a fake account is also posting your photos, the photos can be taken down by copyright notice even where the account itself is not removed.
For Telegram channels leaking your content, see how to remove leaks from Telegram.
Fake account questions
Is impersonation the same as a DMCA takedown?
No, and confusing the two is why reports get rejected. A DMCA notice is about copyright: your photos and videos being used without permission. Impersonation is about somebody pretending to be you, which platforms handle through their own identity and impersonation processes. If a fake account is also using your content, both routes can apply, and they are filed differently.
Can you remove the fake account for me?
We find them, evidence them and give you the exact report route. The platforms that handle impersonation require the report to come from the person being impersonated, often with identity verification, so we do not pretend to file those for you. Where the account is also using your copyrighted content, that part we do file.
What if the fake account is using someone else photos but my name?
That happens often and it still matters, because it is your name taking the damage. There is no copyright claim to make, since the photos are not yours, so it is reported as impersonation rather than as a leak. We tell you which situation you are looking at rather than filing the wrong kind of notice.
Will you report one of my own accounts by mistake?
No. Accounts you have told us are yours are recognised and excluded, and where a page looks like it might be yours it is held for a human to check before anything is sent. Getting that wrong can get a creator suspended from a platform they earn on, so it fails safe.
How fast do fake accounts get removed?
Faster than leak takedowns, usually. Social platforms act on clear impersonation in days rather than weeks, which is why the evidence pack matters: a report with the profile, the stolen material and the dates gets actioned where a bare complaint does not.
Find out who is pretending to be you
Try it free for 3 days. If somebody is trading on your name, you will see it.
✓ 3 days free✓ Cancel before day 4✓ Then £19.99 / US$26.99 a month