Fake Facebook Profile Using My Name: How to Report It

A cousin sends you a screenshot. There is a Facebook profile with your name, your profile photo and a few of your holiday pictures, and it has started adding your friends. One aunt has already accepted. Another has received a message asking to borrow money until tomorrow.

The short answer: report the fake profile to Facebook yourself, as the person being impersonated. If you can log in, report it from the profile. If you cannot, or you never had an account, Meta has a separate form that takes a photo of your ID. Then warn your contacts so nobody pays the impostor while the report is reviewed.

This guide covers both reporting routes, the ID Meta accepts, why friends' reports often go nowhere, and when to involve the police or NSRC in Malaysia.

Last checked: 29 September 2026.

#What Should You Do If Someone Made a Fake Facebook Account Using Your Name?

Report it to Facebook as the person being impersonated. Meta's help page on reporting a profile pretending to be you says impersonating profiles and Pages go against its Community Standards, and that you can report them even if you do not have a Facebook account. Logged in, open the fake profile, choose "Options" below the cover photo, then "Report profile" and follow the prompts. Without an account or access, use Meta's Report an Impostor Account form. Screenshot the fake profile first, warn your friends, and remember that only Meta can remove it.

#Fake Profile, Hacked Account or Something Else?

A fake profile is a separate account built to look like you. A hacked account is your real account in someone else's hands. They need different fixes.

If your real account has been taken, fix that first through Meta's hacked account page. Its account recovery hub lists impostor accounts as a separate problem: reporting a fake profile will not recover a hacked one.

#How to Report the Fake Profile From Your Facebook Account

This is the quickest route if you can still log in. Meta's steps, with one addition of ours:

1. Go to the impersonating profile. If you cannot find it, search for the name or ask a friend to send you the link.
2. Screenshot the profile, its photos and any posts before you report, in case it changes or disappears.
3. Choose "Options" below the cover photo.
4. Select "Report profile".
5. Follow the prompts. At the time of writing, they usually include an option such as "Pretending to be someone", followed by a question about who is being impersonated. Choose the option that says it is you.

The prompts vary by app version and region, so read each screen. A general category such as spam, when the profile really copies you, sends the report down the wrong path.

If the fake profile has messaged you on Messenger, Meta says you can report impostor profiles in Messenger too. Its Messenger reporting page lists "Impersonation: accounts that pretend to be you or someone else" as a category, and says Meta reviews up to 30 of the most recent messages in a reported conversation.

#How to Report Without a Facebook Account

You do not need a Facebook account to get a fake profile reviewed. Meta says that if you have no account, or have lost access to yours, you should fill in the Report an Impostor Account form. When we opened it on 29 September 2026, it asked these questions, and the wording may differ by region or language:

1. Which situation describes you. Choose "Someone created an account pretending to be me or a friend".
2. Whether the account is impersonating you. Choose "Yes, I am the person being impersonated", or the authorised representative option if you are a parent or legal guardian reporting for someone else.
3. The full link (URL) to the impostor profile, copied from a browser's address bar, plus any email address or mobile number shown on it. A friend may see contact details you cannot.
4. A picture of your ID, or the ID of the person you are authorised to represent.

#Which ID Does Meta Accept, and What Happens to It?

The ID proves you are the real person. Meta's page on the types of ID it accepts says you can send one government ID, such as a national identity card, passport, driving licence or birth certificate. For a Malaysian, that usually means a MyKad or passport. If you cannot provide a government ID, Meta says you can send two different non-government IDs instead, such as a student card or employment verification, with your name on both and a photo or date of birth on at least one.

• Photograph the real document, clearly and in good light. Meta does not accept photos digitally edited to hide information.
• You may physically cover details Meta does not need, such as your ID number, before you take the photo. Meta says it ignores sensitive information not required for the review.
• Send only what is asked for. Meta says extra documents can slow the review down.

#Why Your Friends' Reports Often Get Closed

Meta needs to hear from you. If someone tells the impostor form that the account is impersonating a friend, Meta replies that it can only act on reports from the person being impersonated or their authorised representative, such as a parent or legal guardian, and asks them to send the form to the friend. Ten friends reporting the same profile may get nowhere while your one report moves.

Friends are still useful. They can send you the fake profile's link if it has blocked you, and report any Messenger conversation it starts with them. Messenger's page on unwanted messages suggests blocking the profile, and taking a screenshot before deleting a chat you may want to report.

#When the Fake Profile Asks Your Friends for Money

Many fake profiles exist to borrow money in your name. Meta's page on money scams in Messenger says scammers either create fake accounts or hack real ones of people you know, then send personalised messages to trick you into paying. Among the warning signs it lists are people claiming to be a friend or relative in an emergency, and people asking to move the conversation off Facebook.

Post a short warning on your real profile, and call or text close family directly, because some will not see a Facebook post. Keep it simple:

There is a fake Facebook profile using my name and photos. I will never ask you for money, a loan or a code on Facebook. Please do not reply to it, block it, and send me a screenshot if it contacts you.

In Malaysia the request often arrives in the language the family uses. Examples of the pattern: "Boleh pinjam duit sekejap? Esok saya bayar balik" in Bahasa Malaysia, or "可以先借我一点钱吗？明天还你" in Chinese. Another common move is asking the friend to forward a code "sent by mistake", which is how the impostor tries to take over their real account. Our guide to a hacked account messaging your friends covers what contacts should do if they already replied.

#Evidence Checklist Before You Report

A clear report is easier to act on. Collect these before the profile changes its name or photo:

• The full link to the fake profile, and the link to your real profile if you have one.
• Screenshots of the fake profile's name, photos, bio and posts, with the date visible.
• Screenshots of messages it sent to you or your friends, including any request for money or codes.
• Names of friends it added, so they can be warned directly.
• A photo of your MyKad or passport, with non-essential details physically covered.
• If money was lost: the bank account number the scammer gave, the amount, the time and the receipt.

If the impostor is copying a business or you need evidence for several platforms at once, our guide to impersonation evidence in Malaysia goes further into what to capture and how rights-based reports differ.

#After You Report: Where to Check the Result

If you reported while logged in, the outcome arrives in your Support Inbox. Meta's page on finding your Support Inbox says it holds your reports about others, reached from your profile picture, then "Help & support", then "Support Inbox".

If Meta decides the profile does not break its rules and you disagree, its page on content it did not remove says you can usually open the decision under "Reports about others", choose "See options" and select "Request another review" where that option appears. Meta says the second review usually happens within 24 hours, and that some decisions upheld twice may be eligible for appeal to the Oversight Board, which selects only some cases.

If you used the form without an account, Meta does not publish a timeline for a reply. Do not submit the form repeatedly in the meantime.

#Mistakes That Stall an Impersonation Report

• Relying on friends' reports instead of reporting yourself.
• Giving the fake profile's name instead of its full link.
• Uploading an ID with details blurred or blacked out in an editing app, which Meta does not accept.
• Choosing a general report category when the problem is that the profile pretends to be you.
• Creating your own decoy or copy profile to confuse the impostor. That is impersonation too.
• Posting the suspected impostor's personal details online. Leave identification to the police.
• Joining mass-report groups or paying someone to spam reports, which adds noise and no proof.

#Malaysia: When to Call NSRC, the Police or MCMC

If a friend or relative sent money to the impostor, deal with the money first. The NSRC's FAQ on the NFCC website tells victims to contact their bank's 24-hour hotline or the NSRC on 997 as soon as they discover the fraud, then make a police report at the nearest police station. It lists the details to bring, including the scammer's bank account number, the transaction details and screenshots of the conversation, such as Facebook pages and links.

Impersonation without money lost can still be a police matter. MCMC's complaints page lists "Cheating by Personation" under the Penal Code, and defamation, as matters for the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM). For online content problems, the same page says to raise the issue with the service provider first and, if it stays unresolved, lodge a complaint through MCMC's complaint portal. In practice, report to Meta first and keep the reference.

If the impostor sends people a fake login page or phishing link, you can also report it to CyberSecurity Malaysia's Cyber999 incident response centre, which takes reports by online form, email, phone and its mobile app. Our guide on reporting a hacked or scam account in Malaysia explains which agency handles what.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

Meta reviews every report and decides. Not every report ends in removal, and some impostors return under a new profile. Most people can still get a fake profile reviewed alone with the steps above. Outside help is worth considering when the impostor keeps coming back, when it targets your business or customers, when it spans Facebook and other platforms, or when you cannot use the form because you cannot provide the ID it needs. SocialSafe by AwareXone, our recovery service, looks at the case first and tells you honestly whether you already have what you need. We work only through Meta's own reporting routes, and we never ask for your password or codes. You can read how we approach impersonation removal, and our Trust Center explains what we will and will not ask you for.

#Frequently Asked Questions