Earlier this month there was an incident of peaceful protests at a local university. After the protests, many students and journalists reported that someone has created fake Facebook accounts using their information and pictures. These fake accounts were being used to post hateful messages and malicious propaganda. After proper investigation, authorities reached out to the Facebook people and had those accounts shut down.
If someone has been impersonating you on Facebook and has created a fake account using your pictures and name, then you do not have to worry. Facebook allows you to report such fake or impersonating accounts very easily. Here is how:
- On your desktop or laptop computer, visit the fake Facebook profile that you want to report.
- On the profile, click on the three dots button displayed next to “Message”.
- Select “Find Support or Report Profile” from the menu that is displayed.
- On the next screen, you have to pick a reason of reporting that account. Choose “Pretending to be Someone” from the list of reasons. Choose “Me” from who they are pretending to be and click “Next”.
- Follow on-screen directions and then click on “Done” in the end.
After you have reported a fake account to Facebook, they will process your report and take appropriate action as needed. However, if the fake account holder has made threats or done some damage to your reputation in the society then you should also report that account to the local law enforcement authorities.
A while back, Facebook published a big list of tell tale signs of fake accounts. This list includes dozens of well known indications of possible fake accounts. Everyone should read this list to have some idea how cleverly these fake accounts are created. You should also read this list of many ways of identifying fake accounts by visiting https://www.facebook.com/notes/diggy-revolution/how-to-identify-fake-facebook-accounts/932938246803366/.