Hacked and Fake Accounts
We want you to be yourself on Facebook. If someone is preventing you from being yourself by impersonating you or accessing your account, we want to help. Impersonation is when someone uses an account to claim that they're someone else. We call these fake accounts. An account is hacked when someone gains access to someone else's account without their permission.
Hacked Accounts
We want to make sure that you're the only person with access to your account. If you think your account was hacked, or taken over by someone else, we can help you secure it.
Your account may have been hacked if you notice:
- Your email or password has been changed
- Your name or birthday has been changed
- Friend requests have been sent to people you don't know
- Messages have been sent that you didn't write
- Posts have been made that you didn't create
You can also review these tools and tips to help keep your account safe.
If your friend can't get into their account because it was taken over by someone else, please show them the Hacked Accounts section of the Help Center so we can help.
If your friend is medically incapacitated and unable to use Facebook, we might be able to help you remove their account. If your friend's condition is reversible, we can deactivate the account instead of deleting it. That way, when this person recovers they can log back in and reopen the account.
If your friend passed away, please report their profile to be memorialized. Memorializing an account helps keep it secure by preventing anyone from logging into it.
Impersonation
If you have a Facebook account and want to report someone that's pretending to be you or someone you know:
- Go to the profile of the fake account
- Click
on the cover photo and select Report - Follow the on-screen instructions to file a report
If you don't have a Facebook account and want to report someone that's pretending to be you or someone you know, please fill out this form.
Impostor accounts aren't allowed on Facebook. If someone created an account pretending to be you:
- Go to the impostor profile
- If you can't find it, try searching for the name used on the profile or asking your friends if they can send you a link to it.
- Click on the cover photo and select Report
- Follow the on-screen instructions
If you don't have a Facebook account, you can report an impostor account by filling out this form.
If you'd like to request a copy of data that was posted to an account that was meant to impersonate you, you should first contact a lawyer or your local law enforcement agency and discuss this issue with them.
If you decide to pursue legal action, we recommend having the lawyer or officer review our operational guidelines and contact us by following the directions listed there. Once they contact us, we'll be able to communicate with them regarding this issue. Please be aware that there are situations where we may be unable to retrieve the information you have requested due to technical limitations.