# If someone is pretending to be you on facebook can you track them down without the police? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207 "2012-01-11T20:54:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/1 "2012-01-11T20:54:19Z")
A female friend has found that someone has set up a site and lifted facebook pictures she (the friend) had on her facebook photo section, and these are now the profile pics of a (purported) woman with a different name, and a completely different lifestyle than my friend. I assume you call facebook and get this stopped, and that’s her next move. What my friend wants to know before she does this, is if there is any way to track this person down and find out who is doing it without getting a court order or involving the authorities (police etc). ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/2 "2012-01-11T21:04:56Z")
> [@astro](#): > > is if there is any way to track this person down and find out who is doing it without getting a court order or involving the authorities (police etc). Of course there is. In fact, I doubt the police would even bother. In fact, this sounds like a sit-com plot. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/3 "2012-01-11T21:23:52Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > Of course there is. In fact, I doubt the police would even bother. In fact, this sounds like a sit-com plot. In most jurisdictions, it probably constitutes criminal impersonation. it’s also against Facebook’s policy, and they have a [page that explains how to resolve this issue](https://www.facebook.com/help/search/?q=Impersonation). Likely no way to track down the offender on your own, unless the offender posts some identifying information. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/4 "2012-01-11T22:02:52Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > In most jurisdictions, it probably constitutes criminal impersonation. On **Facebook**? I highly doubt it, at least in **most** jurisdictions. The police aren’t going to bother with something like this. As I said, it sounds like a sit-com plot. They’re not even using the same name. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/5 "2012-01-12T02:57:18Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > They’re not even using the same name. I read it that the OP was saying the other person had a different name, not that the facebook account in question used a different name. If the offending facebook page uses the friend’s name with her pictures, it could constitute a crime. If, as you interpret, the facebook page uses a different name and just uses some of her photos without permission, then I agree with you… not something the police will bother with. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/6 "2012-01-12T03:08:28Z")
It seems to me that the only legal recourse would be copyright infringement on the photos (of course you give up all rights to them when you put them on Facebook, so even that might be a non-starter). But as other people have pointed out its undoubtedly very much contravening the Facebook terms of use (in fact I think there is a disclaimer on the photo upload page stating that you have rights to use that photo, there definitely is on video). So your best bet is reporting her to Facebook, they do have people whose job it is to take down inappropriate/fake pages. ---
**Author:** ![Paralogic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Paralogic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paralogic)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/7 "2012-01-12T03:14:20Z")
> [@astro](#): > > …without getting a court order or involving the authorities (police etc). If she even thinks about calling the Police about this, I will consider her an abuser of my tax dollars. If you want to play with that FaceCrap, then pay the price. All that website wants to do is get a record of your behavior in a digital form so they can sell it to the highest bidder. Don’t even dare pick up the phone to call the Police. You wanted Internet exposure? Deal with it yourself! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/8 "2012-01-12T03:24:38Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > (of course you give up all rights to them when you put them on Facebook, so even that might be a non-starter). Cite? From Facebook’s [terms](https://www.facebook.com/legal/terms): For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it. That doesn’t mean you lose your rights, just that Facebook and its partners are allowed to use your photos until you delete them. That doesn’t mean that anybody ELSE, such as a person impersonating you, has the right to copy your photos… unless they were sub-licensed by Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/9 "2012-01-12T03:25:26Z")
> [@astro](#): > > A female friend has found that someone has set up a site and lifted facebook pictures she (the friend) had on her facebook photo section, and these are now the profile pics of a (purported) woman with a different name, and a completely different lifestyle than my friend. > > I assume you call facebook and get this stopped, and that’s her next move. What my friend wants to know before she does this, is if there is any way to track this person down and find out who is doing it without getting a court order or involving the authorities (police etc). You or someone you know could friend the impersonator and see what details they can get. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/10 "2012-01-12T03:54:27Z")
> [@Paralogic](#): > > If she even thinks about calling the Police about this, I will consider her an abuser of my tax dollars. > > If you want to play with that FaceCrap, then pay the price. All that website wants to do is get a record of your behavior in a digital form so they can sell it to the highest bidder. > > Don’t even dare pick up the phone to call the Police. You wanted Internet exposure? Deal with it yourself! [Moderator Note] **Paralogic** , this isn’t responsive to the question in the OP. We don’t need to know your opinion about Facebook. Please confine yourself to factual responses to the OP. No warning issued. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/11 "2012-01-12T11:12:58Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > If, as you interpret, the facebook page uses a different name and just uses some of her photos without permission, then I agree with you… not something the police will bother with. The OP says the person has a different name. If the person were actually using the same name, and the OP has no idea who the person really is, how would they know if the person really has a different name? Logic dictates that either the person was not using the same name, or that the OP was jumping to a conclusion. I gave the benefit of the doubt to the OP. In any event, using someone’s name and even their photos on a Facebook account isn’t a crime (at least not in most jurisdictions, and how would they determine to proper jurisdiction anyway). Just report it to Facebook and leave the LEO out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/12 "2012-01-12T11:45:32Z")
This sounds a great deal like something that happened to a college of mine. He discovered that a clone account had been set up - same name, lifted photos. Very very odd. He contacted Facebook and was able to resolve the issue reasonably quickly, with the interloper account disabled. So why? Well it turned out that the site had been stumbled upon by some of his friends, and appeared to be his legitimate Facebook page. Thus they would friend the interloper, and not him. So, still why? Eventually it appeared that the whole point was to plant references to infected websites filled with malware into the interloper’s Facebook page and to trick people into visiting these sites. The clone page was rudimentary, and its creation may well have been scripted, or even mostly automatic. The interloper’s home IP address was traced back to Asia (I can’t remember the exact country - it may have been the Philippines.) So, despite some issues with their reputation over customer relations, it seems Facebook are able to resolve these issues. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/13 "2012-01-12T19:06:43Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > In any event, using someone’s name and even their photos on a Facebook account isn’t a crime (at least not in most jurisdictions, and how would they determine to proper jurisdiction anyway). You are incorrect. There are specific statutes making online impersonation illegal [in California](http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_16970284) [and Texas](http://www.mmalaw.com/Houston_Criminal_Defense_Blog/2011/September/Impersonating_Someone_Online_In_Texas_Is_Illegal.aspx) (and perhaps other states I’m not aware of). Most other states have more general laws about “criminal harassment” or “identity theft” that can apply. Also, most municipal police departments have “cybercrimes” units designed to deal with these sorts of issues. It’s best to attempt to resolve this through Facebook’s designated channels before turning to law enforcement. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/14 "2012-01-12T21:31:04Z")
You need to file a police report before Facebook will provide info about the offending account. From Facebook link upthread. > [@](#): > > To get information about an account that is impersonating you, please file a request that includes the following: > > ``` > Scanned or digital image of a government-issued ID (driver’s license or passport, for example) > Notarized statement verifying your identity > Copy of a police report about your claim > > ``` ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/15 "2012-01-12T22:07:48Z")
It’s common for a Police Department to have a website that allows you to submit a report and get a report number and printout for things that need to be documented, like this. Your friend will probably never be contacted about it once the report is filed. No need to fear, unless she has a warrant out on her or something. (I filed an online report when my checkbook was stolen and used. I was only contacted when they caught somebody. Seems there was a sobriety check and the guy had my checkbook and a fake ID on the passenger seat. I’m guessing there were other things as well, but they didn’t apply to my report. I have no idea whether it ever went to court. I was never called to testify.) ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/16 "2012-01-12T22:40:34Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > You need to file a police report before Facebook will provide info about the offending account. I think, however, that you can still report the offending account to Facebook by clicking on the appropriate link. You only need the additional info if you want to find out what the hell is going on. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/17 "2012-01-12T22:42:00Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > You are incorrect. There are specific statutes making online impersonation illegal [in California](http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/localnews/ci_16970284) [and Texas](http://www.mmalaw.com/Houston_Criminal_Defense_Blog/2011/September/Impersonating_Someone_Online_In_Texas_Is_Illegal.aspx) (and perhaps other states I’m not aware of). The first link is a dead link\*. The second one says this: “The law makes it a third degree felony to impersonate another person without their permission on any website by posting information or sending messages with the intent to harm, defraud, threaten or intimidate any person.” \*ETA—or it was a few minutes ago; it basicly says the same thing the Texas one does I don’t think a Facebook account with even with the same name applies in this case. Even if it did, I highly doubt any action law enforcement will attempt would be more effective than simply letting Facebook take care of it. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/18 "2012-01-13T01:01:46Z")
> [@srzss05](#): > > > [@astro](#): > > > > is if there is any way to track this person down and find out who is doing it without getting a court order or involving the authorities (police etc). > > Of course there is. In fact, I doubt the police would even bother. In fact, this sounds like a sit-com plot. What do you mean, “of course there is”? Unless the person who set up the fake page is an idiot, it’s almost impossible to do. Someone could walk into an Internet cafe tomorrow, create a new email address on any of a dozen free email sites, use that email address to create a Facebook account, fill it with stuff, sign out, clear cookies, and walk away. There’s no possible way you’d find him. ---
**Author:** ![srzss05](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@srzss05](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srzss05)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/19 "2012-01-13T12:04:34Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:18, topic:609207”] What do you mean, “of course there is”? Unless the person who set up the fake page is an idiot, it’s almost impossible to do. [/QUOTE] I was being a bit facetious. It isn’t any easier for the local police to do either, and I really meant that you shouldn’t waste their time on something so trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Sinaptics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Sinaptics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sinaptics)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207/20 "2012-01-13T18:20:21Z")
Would it be illegal to impersonate yourself (the imposter) to Facebook to get access to the facebook page? From there you might be able to get email address and other personal details to clue you into who they are. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-someone-is-pretending-to-be-you-on-facebook-can-you-track-them-down-without-the-police/609207.md?page=2)