CASE FILE IV · IDENTITY PROTECTION
Someone is impersonating me online.
An impersonator trades on the trust you've built. Speed matters - here's the sequence that gets fake profiles removed and protects the people who trust you.
Document before you act
Screenshot the fake profile, its handle, URL, and anything it has posted or sent. If it's messaging your contacts, ask them to screenshot those messages too. Evidence vanishes when the account does.
Report as impersonation from the right place
Use the platform's specific impersonation report, not a generic complaint. Reporting from your verified or established real account carries more weight. Ask trusted contacts to report it as well - volume helps.
Alert your network fast
Post from your real account: “There's a fake profile pretending to be me - please don't respond to it and report it.” This is the single fastest way to neutralise a scammer working your contact list.
Provide ID if the platform asks
For serious impersonation, platforms may ask you to verify your identity to prove you're the real person. It feels intrusive, but it's usually the fastest route to removal.
Strengthen your real presence
Impersonators exploit gaps. Secure your handles on the platforms you use, keep profile photos consistent, and consider verification where available - it makes fakes obvious and easier to remove.
If impersonators keep returning under new names, you're facing a pattern, not an incident. That's when continuous monitoring across platforms - catching new fakes the moment they appear - stops the game of whack-a-mole.
You don't have to handle this alone.
Talk to a guardian