On this page
1. First steps in every case
- Keep evidence before you report: the exact URL of the account or page, dated screenshots, messages received. Our guide on saving evidence explains how.
- Report the account to the platform using the impersonation option. Our platform guides give the right form: Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, X.
- Warn your family and your audience: "A fake account is going around in my name. Do not reply, and never send money or codes."
- Secure your accounts: a new password (email first), two-factor authentication.
2. The right service for your situation
| What is happening | Where to go |
|---|---|
| A fake website, fake message or online scam | The reporting form of the Federal Office for Cybersecurity (NCSC), on ncsc.admin.ch |
| A fake account is using your identity | Report it to the platform, then file a complaint with the cantonal police (3 months) |
| An intimate image of you (real or manipulated) is shared without consent | Complaint to the police; free, confidential support at a victim support centre (LAVI/OHG) in your canton, listed on aide-aux-victimes.ch |
| The victim is a young person | 147 (Pro Juventute): phone, WhatsApp or email, free and confidential |
| Someone threatens to share an image unless you pay | Do not pay, stop replying, keep the evidence and go to the police |
| A contract or purchase made in your name | Dispute it in writing with the company, tell your bank, attach the complaint |
3. Filing a complaint
At a police station in your canton, or in writing to the cantonal public prosecutor. Filing is free. Attach your evidence. For a deepfake or a photo, the protection of personality (article 28 of the Swiss Civil Code) also lets you take civil action, with a lawyer.
Get fake accounts in your name taken down
If fake accounts, fake profiles or content use your name, face or voice, our fake profile and impersonation removal service acts to get them taken down: reports on the right grounds, follow-ups, then daily monitoring for accounts that come back. We work in Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg as well as France. If it cannot wait, see our emergency response.
See pricingFAQ
What does the author risk?
A custodial sentence of up to one year or a monetary penalty, if they used your identity to harm you or to obtain an unlawful advantage (art. 179decies of the Criminal Code).
I do not know who the author is. Is the three-month deadline running?
The deadline runs from the moment you know who the author is. File a complaint against person or persons unknown as soon as possible anyway: it records the facts.
Do I have to send my ID to the platform?
Only through the platform's official form, never to someone who contacts you.