How to Report a Fake Instagram Account

Are you concerned about an account that has recently appeared on Instagram, that you believe is impersonating another user?

This is a growing issue on the platform as Instagram becomes increasingly popular and powerful for business owners and those with a large following – and is one of the reasons why Instagram has rolled out its blue tick verification badge for authentic users.

But despite this, fake accounts still exist and can – in some cases – lead to high levels of damage if they manage to trick and scam users into sharing details or clicking on links which contain hacking information and malware.

In this article, we’re letting you know how to report these accounts – making Instagram aware of the issue so that these accounts can be monitored and removed.

3 Steps to Report a Fake Account

1. Head to the profile page of the account that you want to report
2. Click on the three dots in the top right hand corner of the screen
3. Select ‘Report’

You will be asked at this stage to identify the reason behind your report. If you are concerned that the account is fake, then select ‘Something About This Account’ and then ‘They are Pretending to be Someone Else’.

Instagram will ask you whether they are impersonating someone you know or a celebrity and will likely also ask for the username of the account that is being impersonated. This information will then be used by Instagram to explore the report; the more reports an account receives, the higher up the list it will appear and the more quickly the issue will be investigated. This is why you will often see victim accounts linking to the fake account and asking for as many people as possible to report it.

NOTE: You can follow these same steps to report an account for something ese, be it related to the account as a whole or a specific post that they shared and that you think violates the community guidelines or terms of Instagram.