A fake online store is using your creator or influencer name. What to do.

1. What is your situation?

2. Keep the evidence first

A scam site can vanish and reappear elsewhere within hours. What you captured stays.

1. Copy the exact address of the site (home page and product pages) and note the domain name.
2. Take full screenshots with the date visible: home page, product pages, legal notice (often missing or fake), checkout and the payment methods offered.
3. Write down what the site claims: company name, address, phone, contact email. These are often invented, but reports need them.
4. For each ad: a screenshot, the name of the Page running it and a link to the post if possible. Meta and Google both keep public ad libraries (Meta's ad library, Google's Ads Transparency Center) that may help you find an ad.
5. Keep messages from followers who say they were tricked (ask before quoting them).
6. Don't buy anything "to test" with real card details, and don't enter any information on the site.

3. Report the site: host and registrar

A website has a registrar (where the domain name was bought) and a host (where its files are stored). Either can act, so report to both.

1. Find the registrar. The official ICANN Lookup shows a domain's registration data with the registrar's abuse contact. ICANN requires accredited registrars to publish an abuse contact and to take reasonable, prompt steps to investigate reports. ICANN itself does not manage website content.
2. Find the host. IP lookup and "whois" tools usually name the provider. Sometimes an intermediary service appears instead of the real host: report to it anyway, and say you are looking for the host.
3. Write a precise notice. In the EU, the Digital Services Act (article 16) requires hosting providers to offer a way to notify illegal content. A complete notice includes an explanation of why the content is illegal, the exact URL, your name and email, and a good-faith statement. Use the structure of our takedown request template.
4. Say clearly what is false: "This site uses my name, photos and brand without permission to sell products I don't offer. I have no connection with it."
5. For a .fr domain, Afnic, which runs the extension, handles domain-name abuse (holder checks, dispute procedures such as Syreli and PARL Expert), not website content.
6. If the registrar doesn't respond, you can complain to ICANN Compliance with its complaint form.

4. Get the site flagged by Google and browsers

1. Report it to Google Safe Browsing if the site impersonates you or collects payments and data: phishing report form. Google reviews it; no timing is guaranteed.
2. For malware, there is a separate badware form.
3. Report spam in Google Search with the spam report form if the site games results. Don't include personal data: the report can be shared with the site owner.
4. Legal removal of a result (copyright, privacy and so on): Google asks you to try in-product reporting first, then use its separate legal request form. See remove a Google result.

5. Scam ads and fake accounts: Meta and Google

Facebook and Instagram ads. From the ad, the "…" menu usually lets you report it as a scam or as impersonation; choose the reason that fits best. Facebook's Help Center also has forms such as "Report a Facebook profile or Page pretending to be you or someone else" and one for a Page impersonating a public figure. Exact names can change.

Facial recognition against celeb-bait ads. In 2025 Meta said it was expanding a facial recognition tool to the EU and UK to catch scam ads that use public figures' faces; public figures opt in in Europe. See Meta's Scam Protection Center if you have a large audience.

Trademark. If your name, handle or logo is a registered trademark, use Meta's intellectual property reporting tools. A trademark report is a different reason from a scam report. File one report per reason.

Google ads. On a Google ad, open the "More" or "Info" menu, select Report ad, choose a reason, add details and send; you get an email confirmation and Google's Trust & Safety team reviews it. Google's ad rules prohibit, among other things, impersonating another brand to hide your identity. If the ad uses your trademark, Google also offers a trademark complaint form.

Other platforms. TikTok, YouTube, X and marketplaces have their own forms; see our fake X account guide.

Beware of fake "removal services." If someone contacts you after you report, posing as platform support and asking for money or your login details, don't answer.

6. Official reports

Official channels depend on your country. In France: THESEE (online complaint for internet fraud), Pharos (internet-signalement.gouv.fr), SignalConso and the Info Escroqueries line at 0 805 805 817. In the EU, your national consumer authority or European Consumer Centre; the EU's online dispute resolution platform closed on 20 July 2025. In the US, the FBI's IC3; in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Report Fraud. Elsewhere, ask your local police. We checked the French channels in detail; check the official page for your country before filing.

7. Warn your community

1. Post a clear message, pinned, in a story and in your bio: "A site called [name] is using my name and photos to sell products. It isn't me. My only store is [official address]."
2. Don't link to the fake site; write the domain name without a clickable link so it gets no traffic.
3. Tell people who paid what to do: contact their bank quickly to try to reverse the payment, keep evidence, file a report with their authorities.
4. Say where you really are: list your real accounts and shop.
5. Watch your comments: fake accounts often reply "it's here" with a link. Report and delete.
6. Don't answer threats or blackmail, and keep the message.

8. What the law says

General information, not legal advice. In France, online impersonation is punishable by one year in prison and a €15,000 fine (article 226-4-1 of the Criminal Code) and fraud by 5 years and €375,000 (article 313-1, per service-public.fr); using a recognisable photo without permission can be challenged under article 9 of the Civil Code; damage to a registered trademark is infringement (article L. 716-1 of the Intellectual Property Code). Your name or handle is protected as a trademark only if registered with the trademark office (INPI, EUIPO, USPTO or equivalent). Elsewhere, laws on impersonation, fraud and trademarks differ, so ask a lawyer. See online impersonation: what to do and fake website copying your business.