How to Spot a Fake Instagram Account and Report It
To spot a fake Instagram account, start with the warning signs Instagram itself publishes: no followers, profile photo or real-looking activity; an unverified profile claiming to be a big company or public figure; a push to move the chat off Instagram; or a message saying something is wrong with your account. The About this account screen then shows when the profile joined and how often its username has changed.
When one turns up, report it from its profile; the routes are below. Instagram’s wider safety settings are linked from our main Instagram guide.
Table of Contents
- How can you tell if an Instagram account is fake?
- How to check About this account
- Does a verified badge mean an account is real?
- Is a “your account is blocked” message real?
- How to report a fake or impersonating Instagram account
- What to do if someone is pretending to be you
- How to deal with fake accounts following you
- Why skip fake follower checker apps?
- Fake Instagram accounts: FAQ
How can you tell if an Instagram account is fake?
Check it against the scam signs Instagram itself publishes. If any apply, look closer before you reply, pay or click.
- No followers, profile photo or real-looking activity.
- No verified badge, yet it claims to represent a large company or public figure.
- It asks to move the conversation off Instagram.
- It says something is wrong with your account.
- A stranger or famous person asks for money, or wants an advance fee for a loan or a prize.
- A “friend or relative in an emergency” needs help, or a fast romance turns to money.
- Poor spelling and grammar.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Avoid getting scammed on Instagram.
How to check About this account
Open the profile’s three-dot menu and tap About This Account. You need to be logged in. Instagram’s step is written for checking a seller; the same menu item is on any profile that offers it:
In the Instagram app:
- Go to the seller's profile and tap the 3 dots in the top right, then tap About This Account.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Avoid getting scammed on Instagram.
The screen shows when the account joined Instagram and how many times its username has changed, not the old names themselves. For certain accounts it also shows the country the account is based in (judged from its activity), accounts with shared followers, any active ads and whether it’s verified. Checked against Instagram Help Center: What is "About this account" on Instagram and Threads
Does a verified badge mean an account is real?
Instagram documents two ways to get a verified badge, and both ask for identification. The badge matters most when it’s missing: an unverified account claiming to represent a large company or public figure is on Instagram’s list of scam signs.
- The notability badge. A public figure, celebrity or brand that meets Instagram’s criteria can request one with a form of ID, and requesting doesn’t guarantee approval. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Request a verified badge for your Instagram profile
- Meta Verified. A paid subscription that includes the badge, Checked against Instagram Help Center: About Meta Verified for creators for personal and creator profiles. Applicants need a government-issued photo ID, among other requirements. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Eligibility requirements for Meta Verified creator subscriptions
How the two differ, and what Meta Verified costs, is in our Meta Verified guide.
Is a “your account is blocked” message real?
Not if it arrives as a direct message. Instagram says it will never send you direct messages about your account in the Instagram app, and lists people offering account verification services among its scam signs. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Avoid getting scammed on Instagram
Official messages about account security come only by email, from addresses ending in @support.facebook.com, @support.instagram.com, @facebookmail.com, @mail.instagram.com or @global.metamail.com. You can see the official emails sent in the last 14 days in your settings, with the same steps on iPhone and Android:
On iPhone:
- Tap Profile or your profile picture in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap Menu in the top right.
- Tap Password and security.
- Tap Recent emails, then tap your Instagram account for which you'd like to see recent emails.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Review recent emails sent from Instagram.
Instagram also says not to trust messages demanding money, offering gifts or threatening to delete or ban your account, and to report suspicious emails to [email protected]. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Protect yourself from phishing on Instagram
How to report a fake or impersonating Instagram account
Report from the account’s profile: tap Options, then Report. Which option comes next depends on what the account is doing:
- It’s pretending to be you, someone you follow, a celebrity or public figure, or a business. Use the impersonation report below. Instagram only takes reports of an account impersonating someone or something, not of one “misrepresenting itself”.
- You don’t have an Instagram or Threads account, or you’re reporting for someone you represent, such as your child. Use Meta’s impersonation report form. It asks for the reported username and a photo of your ID, takes one account per report, and Meta can act only on reports from the person impersonated or their authorized representative. Checked against Instagram Help Center form: Report an Impersonation Account on Instagram or Threads
- It’s a scam or spam account that isn’t copying anyone. Report the profile and follow the on-screen options; a single post can be reported under Scam, fraud or spam. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Report a post or profile on Instagram
The impersonation steps on iPhone are the same on Android, where only the Options icon looks different; the linked article also has computer steps:
On iPhone:
- Tap their username from their Feed or story post, or tap Search and search their username to go to their profile.
- Tap Options in the top right of the profile.
- Tap Report, then tap Something about this account.
- Tap They're pretending to be someone else.
- Select the type of impersonation and follow the on-screen instructions.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Report an account for impersonation.
Reports are anonymous, except intellectual property reports, and the account you report won’t see who reported it. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Report a post or profile on Instagram
What to do if someone is pretending to be you
Report the account through the impersonation route above. Instagram may also change a username that impersonates another user. Checked against Instagram Terms of Use
Every Meta Verified for creators plan adds impersonation protection: Meta proactively monitors other accounts for someone pretending to be you and removes those it decides are impersonating you. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Meta Verified benefits for creators
If the trouble started with someone taking over your own account, Instagram’s official route is instagram.com/hacked, plus a login link or security code requested from the login screen. Checked against Instagram Help Center: If you think your Instagram profile has been hacked
How to deal with fake accounts following you
On a public account, Instagram may already sort suspected spam and bot followers into a Flagged for review list you can clear at once. Follows from flagged accounts arrive as requests that decline automatically after 30 days, and Instagram notes the feature may not be available to you yet.
In the Instagram app: remove flagged followers:
- In the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap Followers.
- If Instagram has flagged any followers, you'll see a notification called Flagged for review that you can tap.
- Tap Remove all to remove all flagged followers at once, or tap Remove next to an account. To say an account shouldn't be flagged, tap Options next to it and tap Not spam or irrelevant.
- Tap Remove to confirm.
In the Instagram app: turn automatic filtering on or off:
- In the Instagram app, go to your profile and tap Menu.
- Tap Follow and invite friends and turn off Flag for review. You can turn this back on at any time.
Checked against Instagram Help Center: Manage unwanted followers on Instagram.
To remove one follower by hand, use Remove on your Followers list; they aren’t notified, though Instagram frames this for private accounts. Checked against Instagram Help Center: Remove a follower on Instagram To stop an account coming back, block it. If your count keeps falling without a clean-up, see why you’re losing Instagram followers.
Not every second account is a fake one: for finstas, bots and other spam accounts, see what a spam account is. Seeming robotic isn’t proof of a fake, either: real people get called NPCs, gaming slang that Merriam-Webster says is used insultingly for a person seen as lacking any capacity for original thought.
Why skip fake follower checker apps?
If an app wants your Instagram login, don’t hand it over. Instagram warns against apps that offer likes or followers in exchange for your login: they can get complete access to your account, and using them can lead to removed engagement, limited features, or a disabled or terminated account. Its advice: “you shouldn’t use these apps or let anyone else access your Instagram account.” Checked against Instagram Help Center: Why you should not use apps that offer likes and followers on Instagram
Instagram’s Terms also forbid collecting information in an automated way without its express permission. Checked against Instagram Terms of Use
Vetting a creator for a brand deal instead? Our guide to spotting fake influencers has seven checks to run by hand before you pay.
Plan your next Instagram feed post with Outfeed AI
Fake Instagram accounts: FAQ
How can you tell if an Instagram account is fake?
Start with Instagram’s own scam signs: no followers, profile photo or real-looking activity, an unverified account claiming to represent a large company or public figure, a request to move the conversation off Instagram, or messages saying something is wrong with your account. About this account also shows when it joined and how many times its username changed.
How do I report a fake Instagram account that’s pretending to be me?
In the Instagram app, go to its profile, tap Options, then Report, Something about this account and They’re pretending to be someone else, and follow the on-screen instructions. Reports are anonymous. If you don’t have an Instagram or Threads account, Instagram’s impersonation article points you to a separate Meta form.
Can you see an Instagram account’s old usernames?
No. About this account shows how many times an account’s username has changed, but not the former usernames themselves. It also shows when the account joined Instagram and, for certain accounts, the country it’s based in and any active ads.
Is a message saying my Instagram account is blocked real?
Not if it arrives as a direct message. Instagram says it will never send you direct messages about your account in the Instagram app. Official messages about account security come only by email, and you can check the ones sent in the last 14 days under Password and security, then Recent emails.
Does Instagram tell someone you reported them?
No. Instagram says reports are anonymous, except reports of intellectual property infringement, and the account you reported won’t see who reported it.