What to do when you're cloned or spoofed in Facebook?

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 Facebook identity can may be cloned or spoofed, which is unfortunately a common issue. Here's how and why that happens — and what you can do about it:

1. Profile Cloning (Most Common Cause) - Someone creates fake Facebook profiles using your name, profile picture, and public info. Use variations of your name (e.g., John A. Smith, Jon Smith, J. Smith); Use different photos; send friend requests to your contacts; & attempt scams (e.g., asking for money, promoting fake offers).

2. Data Scraping - Bots can scrape public data from your profile — name, friends list, photos — and use it to generate fake accounts. This is often automated and used for spamming, phishing, & fake engagement on posts or groups.

3. Impersonation as a Form of Harassment or Scam - deliberate impersonation may intend to damage your reputation, confuse network, and trick others (romance scams, crypto schemes)

4.  Facebook Algorithm Loopholes - Facebook’s algorithm may not catch similar profiles immediately, especially if the fake accounts don’t interact with the original account. This allows fakes to persist longer.

What You Can Do?

1. Report Each Fake Profile - Go to the fake profile > Click the three dots (...) > Find support or report profile > Choose “Pretending to be someone else” > “Me”. Ask friends to report them too — mass reporting helps.

2. Tighten Your Privacy Settings - (a) Limit who can see your friends list, photos, and posts:

(a) Go to Settings & privacy > Settings > Privacy.

(b) Under “Who can look you up using your email/phone number,” choose “Friends” or “Only Me.”

(c) Prevent search engines from linking to your profile.

3. Use Profile Picture Guard - Facebook has a “Profile Picture Guard” (in some regions) that makes it harder for others to download or screenshot your profile photo.

4. Enable two-factor authentication

5. Notify Your Contacts - Let your friends know you're being impersonated. Tell them not to accept duplicate friend requests from “you.”

6. Search Yourself - Try searching your name on Facebook (or Google + Facebook) to identify copycats. Screenshot and document each one before reporting — in case they resurface later.

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