In short. Report the fake profile through the platform's impersonation option with your ID proof. If it is not removed, complain to the platform's grievance officer under Rule 3(2)(b) of the IT Rules, which now requires action within two hours, and appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within 30 days if refused. File a police complaint under the IT Act and BNS where the profile is used to cheat, defame or harass.
Fake profiles come in many forms. Some use your photos and name to chat with strangers. Some copy your profile exactly and message your friends asking for money. Some put up morphed photos with your phone number. Some pretend to be your clinic, shop or company and take payments from your customers. The removal route is broadly the same for all of them, but the police complaint, and whether a court is needed, depends on what the profile is doing.
This post covers impersonation: accounts pretending to be you or your business. If someone has taken over your real account, see hacked email or social media account: legal remedies. If the problem is false statements about you rather than someone posing as you, see defamatory posts online: takedown, civil suit and criminal complaint. Our cyber laws page sets out the wider practice.
- First step
- Platform's impersonation report, with ID proof
- Formal complaint
- Grievance officer under Rule 3(2)(b), IT Rules 2021
- Platform's deadline
- 2 hours for impersonation complaints by the person concerned, since 20 February 2026
- Appeal
- Grievance Appellate Committee, within 30 days of the platform's decision
- Main offences
- IT Act s.66C and 66D; BNS s.319, 336 and 356
- Court remedy
- Suit for injunction and damages; orders to platforms to remove and disclose
Is making a fake profile in someone's name a crime?
It depends on what the profile is used for, but in most cases that reach us, yes. A profile that uses your name and photos to deceive people into thinking it is you, and is used to get money, information or favours from them, is cheating by personation under section 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the Information Technology Act. Police also commonly add section 66C of the IT Act, identity theft, where your photos, name or other identifying features are used dishonestly.
If the profile posts false or insulting material that harms your reputation, defamation under section 356 of the BNS and forgery of an electronic record to harm reputation under section 336 may apply. If it carries obscene or morphed images, sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act come in, and where the person impersonated is a woman, stalking and insulting modesty under the BNS may apply as well.
A clearly labelled parody or fan account, which no reasonable person would mistake for you, is usually not a crime, though platforms may still remove it under their own rules if it is confusing. The test in practice is deception: would someone looking at the profile think it is really you, and is that the point of it?
How to get a fake profile taken down
Work through these in order. Most fake profiles come down at the first or second step if the report is made properly.
Record the profile first
Copy the profile's URL or numeric ID, not just the display name, which can be changed in seconds. Take screenshots of the profile page, the posts and any messages it has sent, with the date visible.
Use the impersonation report
Every major platform has a specific option to report an account pretending to be you, separate from the general 'report' button. It usually asks for a photo of a government ID. Use that form rather than asking friends to mass report, which platforms tend to ignore.
Tell your contacts
Post on your real account, or message close contacts, that a fake profile is using your name and they should not respond or send money. This protects them and gives you witnesses.
Complain to the grievance officer
If the profile stays up for more than a few hours, send a written complaint to the platform's grievance officer under Rule 3(2)(b) of the IT Rules, with the URL, your ID and a short statement. Keep the acknowledgment.
Appeal or escalate
If the grievance officer refuses or does not act, appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee within 30 days. If the profile is cheating or harassing people, file a police complaint at the same time.
Consider a court order
If profiles keep reappearing, or you need the platform to disclose who is behind them, a civil suit with an application for an interim injunction is the remedy that binds the platform and the creator.
What does the grievance officer have to do under the IT Rules?
The IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 require every social media platform and messaging service operating in India to publish the name and contact details of a grievance officer and to deal with complaints within fixed times. Rule 3(2)(b) deals with a complaint made by an individual, or someone on their behalf, about content that is in the nature of impersonation in electronic form, including artificially morphed images, or that shows them in nudity or a sexual act. The platform must take all reasonable measures to remove or disable access to it.
The amendment notified on 10 February 2026, in force from 20 February 2026, cut the time for acting on such complaints from 24 hours to two hours. It also shortened the general time for resolving other grievances from 15 days to seven. If the platform's grievance officer does not act, or rejects the complaint, you can appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee set up by the Central Government within 30 days. The committee's decision binds the platform.
The two hour rule is a strong tool, but only if the complaint is properly made. It must come from you or someone authorised by you, identify the content exactly by URL, and show that the account is impersonating you, which is why the ID proof and a side by side screenshot of your real profile help. A vague email saying 'someone is misusing my photos' to a general support address does not trigger it.
Types of impersonation and the right route for each
| What the fake profile is doing | Takedown route | Police complaint | Court needed? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uses your photos and name to chat with strangers | Impersonation report, then grievance officer | Optional; useful if it continues | Rarely |
| Messages your friends asking for money | Impersonation report, grievance officer, warn contacts | Yes, for cheating by personation; 1930 for anyone who paid | Rarely |
| Fake WhatsApp number with your photo | Report the number in the app; tell contacts | Yes, if used for cheating | Rarely |
| Posts morphed or obscene images with your name | Grievance officer under Rule 3(2)(b), 2 hour removal | Yes, under IT Act s.67 and 67A and BNS | Sometimes, if it recurs |
| Pretends to be your business or customer care | Platform report, trademark complaint, domain registrar | Yes, if customers are cheated | Often, for repeat or large scale misuse |
| Posts false claims while posing as you | Grievance officer | Defamation and forgery complaint | Sometimes, for damages and injunction |
| AI deepfake video of you | Grievance officer; synthetic content rules | Yes, depending on content | Sometimes |
How do I file a police complaint about a fake profile?
File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal, and give a written complaint at the cyber police station of your district. In Delhi, each police district has a cyber police station; in Noida and Ghaziabad, the police commissionerates run their own. The complaint should give the profile URL or ID, the date you discovered it, what it has done (messages sent, money asked for, posts made), the names of anyone who was contacted or cheated, and any person you suspect, with your reasons.
When Advocate B.K. Singh drafts an impersonation complaint, he makes sure it carries the profile's permanent URL or numeric ID and the dates of the screenshots, because the display name and photo can be changed overnight and the police need something the platform can match in its records. He also lists each person the profile contacted, since their statements are often what turns an annoyance into a provable case of cheating.
Offences like these are often punishable with up to three years, and police sometimes register them only after a preliminary enquiry under section 173(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, which can take up to 14 days. If the profile has cheated people of money, or is posting obscene material, push for an FIR. If the police will not register one, our post on what to do when the police refuse to register an FIR explains the next steps.
The laws that apply to fake profiles and impersonation
Section 66C, IT Act (identity theft)
Punishes fraudulent or dishonest use of another person's electronic signature, password or other unique identification feature, with up to three years and a fine. Police commonly invoke it where a fake account uses a person's identity.
Section 66D, IT Act (cheating by personation)
Punishes cheating by personation using a computer resource or communication device, with up to three years and a fine. It is the main section where a fake profile is used to get money or information from others.
Section 319, BNS (cheating by personation)
The general offence of cheating by pretending to be someone else, which applies alongside section 66D. For conduct before 1 July 2024, the corresponding IPC section applies.
Sections 336 and 356, BNS (forgery and defamation)
Creating a false electronic record in someone's name to harm their reputation can be forgery under section 336. Posting false statements that lower a person's reputation is defamation under section 356, which is also a civil wrong.
Section 79, IT Act and the IT Rules 2021
Platforms are protected from liability for users' content only if they follow the due diligence rules, including acting on grievances and court or government orders in time. That is what gives the grievance complaint its force.
Section 94, BNSS (production of records)
Lets the police require a platform to produce records such as account creation details, IP logs and linked phone numbers. Victims cannot get this data directly; it comes through the police or a court.
Can I find out who made the fake profile?
Only through the police or a court. Platforms do not disclose account details to individuals, but they do provide basic subscriber information, IP addresses and linked phone numbers or email addresses to the police on a notice under section 94 of the BNSS, and to courts on an order. The police can then trace the phone number or IP to a person through the telecom provider. This takes weeks, sometimes months, particularly with platforms based abroad.
If you suspect someone, say so in the complaint and give your reasons: a former partner who threatened you, an employee who left on bad terms, a competitor who copied your business name. The police will look at the suspect's devices and accounts if the platform data points that way. Do not try to find out yourself by hacking the account, sending tracking links or confronting the person publicly. Unauthorised access to a computer resource is itself an offence under sections 43 and 66 of the IT Act, and a public accusation against the wrong person can lead to a defamation case against you.
What if the fake profile has cheated my friends of money?
Then it is a cheating case and should be reported as one, both by you and by the people who paid. The usual pattern is a profile that copies yours, sends friend requests to your contacts, and then messages them with an urgent story: a medical emergency, a stuck payment, a gift card needed. Anyone who paid should call 1930 or file on cybercrime.gov.in at once so the money can be traced and held; our post on reporting a UPI fraud and recovering money explains how that works.
You are not liable for money your friends sent to a fake profile in your name. You are, however, an important witness, and your complaint showing that the profile is not yours, with your ID and the date you discovered it, supports their cases. Ask them to keep the chats and payment screenshots, and to name you as the person impersonated in their complaints so the police can link the cases.
Fake business pages, customer care numbers and job offers
Businesses face a different kind of impersonation: a fake Facebook or Instagram page using the company's logo, a fake customer care number listed in search results, a fake website with a similar domain, or fake job offers in the company's name that take 'registration fees' from applicants. These harm customers and the business's reputation, and they often keep coming back.
The platform's report is the first step, but for businesses the trademark is usually the stronger tool. Platforms and domain registrars respond faster to a complaint from a registered trademark owner. A civil suit for infringement and passing off can get an order directing platforms to remove the pages, registrars to suspend domains, telecom companies to block numbers and banks to freeze accounts used by the fraudsters, and the Delhi High Court's IP Division regularly passes such orders, including against unknown defendants. Our page on trademark and copyright laws describes that work.
Put a clear notice on your real website and social media that you do not charge fees for jobs and listing your only official contact numbers. If customers have been cheated, encourage them to file cyber complaints, and file your own complaint naming the fake pages and numbers. The police are more likely to act when they see a pattern across several complaints.
When should I go to court over a fake profile?
Go to court when the platform and police routes have not worked, when profiles keep reappearing, when you need to know who is behind them, or when the damage is serious enough to justify a claim for damages. A civil suit for permanent and mandatory injunction, with an application for an interim injunction under Order 39 of the Code of Civil Procedure, can get an order directing the platform to remove the profile and any similar ones, to disclose the creator's details, and the creator to stop.
For most individuals, the suit goes to the district court; where the claim is above ₹2 crore, or where trademark or personality rights are involved, the Delhi High Court is the usual forum. Courts have also granted orders that cover future copies of the same content, so that each new profile does not need a fresh case. A court case costs more and takes longer than a complaint, so it makes sense mainly for repeated, targeted impersonation, for professionals and businesses whose income depends on reputation, and for cases where the creator is known.
Evidence to collect for the platform, police and court
Collect this once, carefully, and the same set will serve for every step. Our post on electronic evidence and the section 63 BSA certificate explains how screenshots are proved in court.
About the fake profile
- Profile URL or numeric ID, copied as text
- Screenshots of the profile page, posts and photos, with dates
- Screen recording scrolling through the profile
- Any change of name or photo, captured as it happens
About what it did
- Messages it sent to your contacts, with their screenshots
- Names and numbers of people contacted or cheated
- Payment details given to anyone who paid
- Any posts or comments made in your name
About you
- Government ID
- Screenshots of your real profile for comparison
- The original photos it copied, with dates
- For a business: trademark certificate and official contact details
About your reports
- Platform report numbers and replies
- Grievance officer complaint and acknowledgment
- Portal acknowledgment and police complaint copy
- Grievance Appellate Committee appeal, if filed
A made-up example: the dental clinic's double
Here's a made-up example. Dr. Anjali runs a dental clinic in Dwarka with an Instagram page of a few thousand followers. A patient calls to ask about the 'festival offer' she paid ₹4,000 for in advance. Dr. Anjali has no such offer. Someone has created a page with her clinic's name, logo and photos, and is messaging her followers with discounted packages and a UPI ID for advance payment.
Her staff copy the fake page's URL, screenshot it and the messages patients forward, and post a notice on the real page. She files an impersonation report, which the platform rejects within a day as 'not violating guidelines'. She then sends a complaint to the platform's grievance officer under Rule 3(2)(b), with her ID, the clinic's registration, and side by side screenshots. The page is removed the same day.
Three patients have paid. They call 1930 and file portal complaints, and Dr. Anjali files a complaint at the cyber police station naming the UPI ID and the fake page, with the patients' details. An FIR is registered for cheating by personation under the BNS and section 66D of the IT Act. When a second page appears a month later, she considers a suit in which the court can order removal of future copies. Meanwhile she applies to register her clinic's name and logo as a trademark.
Fake profiles targeting women
Fake profiles that use a woman's photos alongside obscene material, her phone number or suggestive captions are among the most damaging, and the law treats them seriously. The two hour removal rule under Rule 3(2)(b) applies directly where the content shows nudity or is morphed. Offences under sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act, and stalking and insulting the modesty of a woman under the BNS, are usually added to the impersonation offences. The complaint can be made at the cyber police station or the local police station, and her statement can be recorded by a woman officer.
These profiles are often made by someone the woman knows. Note anyone who has threatened her, any recent breakup or dispute, and anyone who had access to the photos used. Where the profile is part of blackmail, see our post on sextortion calls and video blackmail; where intimate images have been posted, see removing intimate images shared without consent.
AI deepfakes and impersonation
Deepfake videos and voice clones are a growing form of impersonation: a video of you appearing to endorse an investment scheme, a cloned voice calling your relatives, or a fake explicit clip. The February 2026 amendment to the IT Rules introduced specific rules on synthetically generated information. Platforms must label lawful AI generated content, carry markers that identify it as synthetic, and act against unlawful synthetic content; impersonation and morphed images remain covered by the two hour rule on a complaint by the person concerned.
The offences are the same as for any impersonation, with cheating, defamation or obscenity added depending on what the deepfake shows. For public figures and professionals whose face or voice is used commercially, the Delhi High Court has granted injunctions protecting personality rights against unknown persons and platforms. Keep the original file or link of the deepfake and any evidence of where it first appeared, because tracing the source is harder once it has been reshared.
Mistakes people make with fake profiles
- Saving only the display name. Names and photos change. Without the URL or ID, the platform and police may not find the profile.
- Relying on friends to mass report. Platforms decide on their impersonation rules, not on the number of reports. One proper report with ID proof works better.
- Creating a counter profile. Fighting back with your own fake account or posts muddies the evidence and can expose you to complaints.
- Publicly accusing a suspect. If you name the wrong person, or cannot prove it, you may face a defamation case. Give your suspicion to the police, not to social media.
- Paying someone to 'hack' the fake account. It is an offence, and those offering it are often scammers.
- Stopping after the takedown. If the profile cheated anyone or posted obscene material, file the police complaint anyway. The next profile may come from the same person.
What to do this week about a fake profile
- Copy the profile URL or ID and take dated screenshots and a screen recording
- File the platform's impersonation report with your ID proof
- Warn your contacts not to respond to the fake profile or send money
- If it is still up after a few hours, send a written complaint to the grievance officer under Rule 3(2)(b)
- Ask anyone who paid money to call 1930 and file a portal complaint
- File a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in and at the cyber police station if it is cheating, defaming or harassing
- Diarise 30 days from the platform's decision for an appeal to the Grievance Appellate Committee
- For a business, check your trademark status and publish your official contact details
Getting help with impersonation
Most fake profiles can be removed without a lawyer, using the impersonation report and the grievance officer complaint. Legal help is worth it when the platform will not act, when profiles keep returning, when people have been cheated in your name, when the content is obscene or targeted at a woman, or when a business is being impersonated at scale. In those cases, a properly drafted grievance complaint, police complaint or suit makes the difference between one takedown and a lasting end to the problem.
If you want an advocate to look at the profile and the messages, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh can tell you which route fits and draft the complaint or the suit. Write to us through the online legal enquiry page. Our page for the cyber crime lawyer describes how we handle complaints with the cyber police stations in Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad.
Frequently asked questions
How do I report a fake Instagram or Facebook account in my name?
Use the platform's specific option for reporting an account that is pretending to be you, not just the general report button, and upload a photo of your government ID when asked. If the account is not removed, send a written complaint to the platform's grievance officer under the IT Rules.
How long does a platform take to remove an impersonation profile?
Under the IT Rules as amended in February 2026, a platform must act within two hours on a complaint by the person impersonated, where the content is impersonation in electronic form or a morphed image. In practice, a properly made complaint with ID proof is usually acted on the same day.
Which section applies to a fake profile in India?
Commonly section 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation) of the IT Act, and section 319 of the BNS for cheating by personation. Defamation under section 356 BNS, forgery under section 336 and obscenity under sections 67 and 67A of the IT Act may be added depending on what the profile does.
Can I file a police complaint for a fake profile even if no money was lost?
Yes. Impersonation with intent to deceive, defamation and posting obscene material are offences even without financial loss. The police may conduct a preliminary enquiry first, but you should still file and keep the acknowledgment.
Can the police find out who made the fake account?
Yes, by asking the platform for account creation details, IP logs and linked numbers under section 94 of the BNSS, and then tracing them through the telecom provider. It can take weeks or months, especially with platforms based abroad.
What is the Grievance Appellate Committee?
It is a committee set up by the Central Government under the IT Rules to hear appeals against decisions of platform grievance officers. You can appeal within 30 days of the grievance officer's decision, and its decision is binding on the platform.
Someone is using my photo on WhatsApp and asking my contacts for money. What should I do?
Report the number in WhatsApp, tell your contacts at once that it is not you, and file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. Anyone who paid should call 1930 immediately so the money can be traced.
Am I liable if a fake profile in my name cheats someone?
No. You are a victim of impersonation, not the person who cheated. File your own complaint with your ID and the date you discovered the profile, which helps the people who were cheated prove their cases.
Can I sue the person who made a fake profile of me?
Yes, if you know who it is. A civil suit for injunction and damages can be filed, along with a criminal complaint. Where the creator is unknown, the court can order the platform to remove the profile and disclose the creator's details.
Is a parody account of me illegal?
Usually not, if it is clearly labelled as parody and no reasonable person would think it is you. It becomes impersonation when it is designed to deceive people into thinking it is genuinely you, or is used to cheat or defame.
How do I remove a fake page of my business?
Report it to the platform, and use your trademark registration if you have one, since platforms respond faster to trademark owners. For repeated or large scale impersonation, a suit for infringement and passing off can get orders against platforms, domain registrars and the fraudsters.
Can a deepfake video of me be removed?
Yes. The IT Rules, as amended in February 2026, cover synthetically generated content, and impersonation or morphed images must be removed within two hours of a complaint by the person shown. You can also file a police complaint and, where needed, seek a court injunction.
Written and reviewed at B.K. Singh & Associates
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M., with more than twenty years of practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district courts and tribunals across Delhi NCR. This article explains the general law as of 24 October 2026; it is not legal advice on your facts.