A fake profile is using my photos

Which of the photos can you claim?

This is the part people find surprising. Copyright in a photograph belongs to whoever took it (17 U.S.C. § 201(a)), not to the person in it.

• Selfies and photos you took on a timer or tripod are yours. You can report them as copyright.
• Photos a friend, partner or relative took of you belong to them. They can report them, or authorize someone to act for them.
• Professional portraits belong to the photographer unless the copyright was transferred to you in writing. Many photographers will gladly report misuse of their work when asked.

For any photo you cannot claim, the impersonation report still covers the profile as a whole, and some platforms have privacy reports for identifiable images shared without consent.

Gather the evidence first

Fake profiles are often deleted and recreated, so capture everything before you report. Screenshot the profile page with its username and address, each post that uses your photo, and any messages it has sent to people you know. Copy the profile link and each post link. Ask friends who were contacted to keep the messages.

For the impersonation report, platforms typically ask for proof of identity, such as a photo of government ID, submitted through their own form. Use only the platform’s official help-center forms; anyone else asking for your ID in connection with a fake profile may be running a second scam.

Filing the copyright side

List each post that uses a photo you own, with its link, and describe your original. The report carries the six parts a notice needs under § 512(c)(3)(A), including a statement under penalty of perjury that you own the photos or are authorized to act. Platforms commonly share the reporter’s name and contact details with the account reported; for a fake profile that may be someone with bad intentions, so consider having an agent file in its own name.

When the photos keep coming back

Removed profiles are sometimes recreated under a new name with the same pictures. Keep a list of every account you have reported, with dates and the platform’s reference numbers. Platforms must have a policy for terminating repeat infringers (§ 512(i)), and a documented history helps them connect new accounts to old ones.

Run a photo search now and then for the photos that were used. Reverse image search will not see inside private accounts, but it finds public pages, including dating and romance-scam sites where the same pictures often surface.

Tell the people the profile may contact

Fake profiles built from real people’s photos are often used to approach that person’s friends, family, customers or followers, sometimes asking for money. A brief post on your real account saying that another profile is using your pictures, and that you will never ask anyone for money in a message, protects the people most likely to be targeted. Name the platform but not the fake username, which only sends it more visitors.

Ask anyone who has been contacted to report the profile as well, using the platform’s impersonation or scam option, and to keep any messages. Several independent reports about the same account give the platform more to act on than one.

Filling in the impersonation report

Impersonation forms usually ask whether the account is pretending to be you, someone you know, a business or a public figure, and they ask for the profile’s address and proof of your identity. Give the exact profile link, not a post, and say in plain words that the account is using your name or photographs to present itself as you. If the profile uses a slightly different spelling of your name, say so; that is common, and reviewers look for it.

If the person being impersonated is a child, or someone unable to file for themselves, most platforms let a parent, guardian or representative report on their behalf through the same help center.