Someone is using my photos on a fake profile. What can I do?
Report the profile to the platform as impersonation; most platforms remove accounts that use someone else's photos once you show your own account with the same pictures. Then set your own photos to private and warn your friends and followers.
Stolen photos are used for romance scams, fake sellers and fake landlords. The people chatting to "you" are also victims. Some of them may contact you angrily; stay calm, explain, and point them to the report.
Veritaza's check 1 looks for the same photo elsewhere on the internet. If your photos are being used, that is how the people being scammed can find out.
Step by step
- Screenshot the fake profile, its username and the URL.
- Report it on the platform as "pretending to be me" and attach your own profile.
- Set your accounts to private and remove old public albums.
- Post a warning to your friends and followers so they do not fall for it.
- If the fake profile is used to get money from people, open a case with SAPS and keep the case number.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I find out who made the fake profile?
- Usually not by yourself. The platform and the police can request that information; you cannot.
Want to know if there are warning signs about the person you're chatting to? Veritaza checks the photos, the messages, the number, the email address, the name and the ID document, for R99.
Check a person