Fake profile in your name: get it reported and taken down
For when someone makes a social media or messaging profile using your name or photos to pretend to be you. Report it to the platform and to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, and escalate if the platform does nothing.
Do this first
- 1
Save the evidence before it disappears
Screenshot the fake profile's page, its URL or handle, its posts and photos, and any messages it has sent, with the date and time visible. Do this before you report it: a platform can remove or restrict a reported profile quickly, and the evidence may become hard to get afterwards.
- 2
Report it to the platform directly
Use the platform's own option for reporting an impersonating account or profile. Most major platforms have one.
- 3
File a complaint on the cyber crime portal
Report the impersonation on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal as well. This is your official complaint record, separate from the platform.
Where to report what
A fake profile, morphed photos, and a money demand are three different problems with three different fast routes. Use the one that matches what is actually happening.
| What you need | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| What you needThe profile taken down fast | WhereReport it to the platform directly, using its impersonation-reporting option | WhenAs soon as you find it |
| What you needAn official complaint number | WhereNational Cyber Crime Reporting Portal | WhenAs soon as possible |
| What you needPlatform not responding or not acting | WhereGrievance Appellate Committee | WhenWithin 30 days of the Grievance Officer's reply, or of the deadline passing |
| What you needPrivate or morphed photos are involved | WhereFollow the guide for morphed or private photos shared | WhenImmediately. That route is faster for this. |
| What you needMoney has been demanded or taken | WhereCall 1930, and follow the sextortion guide if it is a threat over photos | WhenImmediately |
Step by step
- 1
Collect your evidence first
Keep these together. You will need them for the platform report, the portal complaint and, if it comes to that, a police complaint.
- The fake profile's URL, username or handle.
- Screenshots of the profile page, its photos and its posts, with the date and time visible.
- Screenshots of any messages it has sent, to you or to anyone else.
- The names of anyone it has contacted while pretending to be you, if you know them.
- 2
Report the profile to the platform
Report the impersonating account or profile using the platform's own reporting option for impersonation. Do this whether or not you also file a government complaint: the platform is usually the fastest way to get the profile itself taken down.
The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has a page with direct links to the reporting pages of the major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, Telegram, Google and others), if you cannot find the option yourself.
- 3
What the platform is required to do
Under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, every platform must publish the name and contact details of a Grievance Officer. That officer must acknowledge your complaint within 24 hours and resolve it within 7 days.
If your complaint is about impersonation, such as a fake profile using your name or photos, the platform must take all reasonable steps to remove it or block access to it within 2 hours of your complaint.
If the platform does not act, or you disagree with what it decided, you can appeal (see "If the platform does nothing" below).
- 4
File a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
This is separate from reporting to the platform. It creates an official complaint with the police of the state you choose.
- Open the portal, choose "Register a Complaint", then "Other Cyber Crime". Choose "Women/Children Related Crime" only if the fake profile is sharing sexually explicit content or involves a child.
- Sign in with your name and mobile number and verify with the OTP.
- Describe what happened: the profile's URL or handle, when you found it, what it has posted or sent, and anything you know about who is behind it.
- Upload your screenshots and a photo of an ID (Aadhaar, PAN, voter ID, driving licence or passport).
- Submit. You will get an acknowledgement number by SMS and email. Keep it: quote it to the platform, the police and any grievance officer you contact.
- 5
Platform not acting? Appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee
If the platform's Grievance Officer has not resolved your complaint in the time given, or you are not satisfied with its decision, you can appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC), a government body set up under the same Rules.
The appeal is filed online, within 30 days of the Grievance Officer's reply (or of the deadline passing without one). You sign in with your mobile number and OTP. The GAC aims to decide within 30 days.
The GAC hears appeals about a platform's decision on your grievance. It does not handle financial fraud or other cybercrime complaints. Those go through the cyber crime portal and the police, as above.
- 6
Work with the police
Impersonating someone online is a criminal matter, and you can make a police complaint about it in addition to the portal complaint. Give the police your acknowledgement number from the cyber crime portal and your evidence.
If the fake profile is also being used to threaten you or demand money, that is a more urgent, separate problem: call 1930 if money has already been demanded or paid, and follow the sextortion guide if that is what is happening.
If things get stuck
Platform side
- 1
Report the profile to the platform directly, using its impersonation-reporting option.
- 2
No response, or the complaint is rejected? Appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within 30 days.
- 3
The GAC does not cover financial fraud or cybercrime. For those, use the cyber crime portal and 1930 instead.
Police and portal side
- 1
Check the status of your complaint on the cyber crime portal with your acknowledgement number.
- 2
No proper response? Contact your state's nodal or grievance officer for cyber crime complaints, from the official list on the cyber crime portal. In Uttarakhand, the grievance officer is the SSP of the Special Task Force (STF).
- 3
You can also take your evidence and acknowledgement number to a police station and ask for an FIR about the impersonation.
Watch out
- If the profile is using morphed, nude or sexual images of you, or private photos you never shared, that has a faster takedown route of its own. Follow the guide for morphed or private photos shared instead, or alongside this one.
- If whoever is behind the fake profile is also demanding money or threatening you over photos, that is sextortion, not just impersonation. Follow the sextortion guide and call 1930 if money is involved.
- Anyone who offers, for a fee, to get the profile taken down faster or to "identify" the person behind it is almost always a scammer. Reporting to the platform, the cyber crime portal and the GAC costs nothing.
- Keep your own account and its security settings as they are until you have your screenshots. Blocking the fake profile first can make some evidence harder to capture.
When an advocate can help
You can do every step above yourself. An advocate helps when:
- The platform does not act and you want a formal grievance-officer notice sent on your behalf
- You want to file a police complaint and the police are not registering it
- The impersonation has damaged your reputation and you are considering a legal notice or a civil case
Sources
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal · Ministry of Home Affairs
- Report abuse to social media platforms · Ministry of Home Affairs
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal: FAQ · Ministry of Home Affairs
- State/UT nodal and grievance officers for cyber crime complaints · Ministry of Home Affairs
- Grievance Appellate Committee · Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, rules 3(2) and 3A · Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
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This guide explains how to report a problem through official channels. It is not legal advice.