How to protect your brand online from impersonation

Why brands get copied (and who pays the price)

As soon as a shop, salon, creator or influencer starts getting known, scammers copy their name, photo and posts. Their goal: pose as them and collect money in their place.

• Fake accounts that reuse your logo and message your followers: “You won a giveaway, just pay the delivery fee.”
• Fake WhatsApp numbers that take orders and ask for a deposit by mobile money.
• Hacked accounts: your real account, in the wrong hands, becomes the scam tool.

Your customers lose their money, but your reputation takes the hit. The good news: a few simple habits greatly reduce the risk.

1. One official link, everywhere

The best defence against confusion is a single source of truth: one page that lists all your real accounts, numbers, email and address.

1. Create your official page (for example on My Official Links) with your real social accounts, WhatsApp numbers and address.
2. Put that link in the bio of every account: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, X…
3. Add it to your flyers, business cards, packaging and email signature (a QR code works great in a shop).
4. Repeat it regularly: “Our only official accounts and numbers are on this link. Anything else is fake.”

That way, when a fake account appears, your customers have a simple reflex: check whether it is on your link.

2. Consistent usernames

• Use the same username on every network whenever possible. A brand that is @awa.boutique on Instagram and @awa_shop237 on TikTok makes impersonators’ lives easier.
• Claim your name on networks you do not use yet, so a scammer cannot grab it.
• Keep the same profile photo and logo everywhere, so customers spot differences faster.
• Avoid changing your username: each change frees the old one, which a fake account can take.

3. Lock down every account

A fake account fools your customers; a hacked account fools them even better, because it is the real one. So protect access to every account:

• Two-factor authentication everywhere (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and above all your email), preferably with an authentication app.
• Up-to-date recovery email and phone, in your name, that you can actually access.
• A unique password for each account, stored in a password manager.
• Beware of fake platform messages: “your page will be deleted”, “copyright violation”, “get the blue badge”. They lead to fake login pages.
• Never share a code you receive by SMS, not even with someone close or a “partner”.
• Limit access: if an employee or agency manages your accounts, give them access in their own name (admin or editor role) instead of your password, and remove it when the work ends.

If it has already happened, follow our guides: hacked Facebook, hacked Instagram, hacked TikTok, hacked WhatsApp.

4. Monitor and report fake accounts

1. Search your name every week on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, including variants (dots, underscores, “official”, “shop”, numbers).
2. Ask your customers to tell you if they receive a suspicious message in your name.
3. Report every fake account straight from the profile, choosing “pretending to be me” or “pretending to be my business”. Platforms sometimes ask for proof of identity.
4. Post an alert with a screenshot of the fake account so your audience recognises it.
5. Keep evidence (screenshots, links, dates) if customers were scammed: it will help with a police report.

To spot an impersonator, read how to recognise a fake account.

5. Get your identity verified with certification

An official link is good. An official link whose owner’s identity has been verified is better. That is what My Official Links certification and its blue badge are for:

• each verified social account shows your page link in its bio, proving you control it;
• your phone numbers are verified through WhatsApp or by a phone call with a code;
• your email addresses are verified;
• your legal name is checked against your national ID number (the NIU in Cameroon).

After that, anyone can paste a TikTok, Instagram or Facebook link, an @username, a phone number or an email into the free Check an account tool and see whether it belongs to a certified page. And if someone impersonates you, you can report it.

This badge is independent from Meta’s or TikTok’s badges: My Official Links is not affiliated with any of these platforms. To compare, read the Facebook and Instagram blue badge.

Do this today: checklist

• Create your official link and add it to every bio.
• Turn on two-factor authentication for your email and every network.
• Check the recovery email and phone on each account.
• Align your usernames and claim your name on other networks.
• Post a message: “Our only official contacts are on this link.”
• Search for fake accounts using your name and report them.
• Consider certification so customers can verify everything themselves.

You can try My Official Links free for 14 days, no credit card needed. After that, the subscription is 9,835 FCFA per year (about €14.99), paid via Orange Money or MTN MoMo.