No upfront fees. You pay only after removal. How it works
Safety
Impersonation misleads people in your name. Reddit treats it as a policy violation. The proof is what makes it actionable.
No upfront fees. You pay only after removal.
This is for you if
An account uses your name, photo or company name.
A subreddit presents itself as official for your brand.
A fake account is contacting customers.
Someone is posting fake statements in your voice.
How Reddit handles this
Reddit Rule 5 says you do not have to use your real name, but you must not intentionally mislead others or impersonate an individual or entity in a deceptive manner. The test is deception: would a reasonable person think this account is actually you or your company? A clearly labelled parody or fan account is judged differently from one built to mislead.
Two things. First, proof that you are who you say you are, so the reviewer can tell the genuine party from the impersonator. Second, evidence that people could be or were misled: messages to customers, posts in your name, use of your logo or branding. Similar names alone are rarely enough.
Impersonation is a Rules issue, not a trademark or copyright issue, and using the wrong one fails. Reddit's own report shows it rejected 596 invalid trademark notices in six months, and lists confusing trademark with other issues such as impersonation as one reason a notice is invalid. We file under the basis that fits.
How we handle it
Proof that you or your organisation is who you say. Reviewers need a way to confirm the real party.
Screenshots that demonstrate people could be misled, not just that a name is similar.
Through Reddit's impersonation route, with the identity evidence attached.
We search for related accounts and repeat the report where needed.
Each action on your case is recorded with its date. You can read the log at any time in your client portal, and reply to us there.
The rulebook
Impersonation is one of the clearer violations when the evidence is good. Here are the rules involved.
This is the core rule for impersonation: you must not mislead others or impersonate an individual or entity in a deceptive manner. Proof of who you are, set beside what the account claims, is the heart of the report.
When a fake account is used to threaten or abuse people in your name, the harassment rule applies as well, and it can make a report more urgent.
Paraphrased from the official Reddit Rules. Moderators also enforce each community's own rules, under Reddit's Moderator Code of Conduct.
Legal background
Regulation · United States (Federal Trade Commission) · 2024
16 CFR Part 461
Effective April 1, 2024, the rule makes it an unfair or deceptive practice to materially and falsely pose as a government entity or a business, or to misrepresent affiliation with one, including through fake logos, spoofed emails or web addresses and terms that imply affiliation. It lets the FTC seek money for victims in federal court.
Why it matters here: Accounts posing as a company's support team or official representative are the kind of conduct the rule targets. It gives a legal footing for describing such an account as deceptive in a report.
Statute · California, United States · 2011
Makes it a crime to knowingly and without consent credibly impersonate another actual person through a website or other electronic means, for the purpose of harming, intimidating, threatening or defrauding. "Credibly" means that a reasonable person would believe the impersonator was the real person. A victim can also sue for damages and for an injunction.
Why it matters here: It covers fake profiles of real people, and the civil injunction remedy supports demands to remove the account. It does not cover impersonating companies.
Statute · Texas, United States · Ongoing
Makes it an offence to use another person's name or persona, without consent and with intent to harm, defraud, intimidate or threaten, to create a web page on a social networking site or other website, or to post messages through one. It is a third-degree felony in the most serious form. The statute provides a defence for providers of an interactive computer service.
Why it matters here: The felony level gives leverage against an impersonator, and the express carve-out for platforms shows why removal works through the platform's own reporting process.
Real public cases
A documented public event. It is not one of our clients.
Public case · 2009 · not a client of ours
Public case · 2022 · not a client of ours
The outcome
The profile remains visible with the username shown as "[deleted]" and a banned notice. Its posts are removed as well.
Posts and comments the account made are replaced with removal notices, so they can no longer mislead anyone.
We point out which accounts are genuinely yours, so a report against a copy is not mistaken for a report against you.
Before you do anything
Reddit has to see the real person or brand to judge the copy. Bring it with the first report.
Messages to an impersonator tend to be screenshotted and reused.
Clearly labelled parody is judged differently. We tell you early which side of the line the account is on.
While we work
Sign in with a one-time code sent to your email. Follow the case, reply to us, add links and evidence, and read your invoice there. The invoice is issued only after removal.
What we need
Questions
The question is whether the account could mislead others into thinking it is you. Clearly labelled parody is handled differently.
Usually yes. Reddit needs a way to distinguish the genuine party from the impersonator.
Related
Pursue a ban or sitewide suspension for an abusive account.
Learn moreCopied images, text, video or products. Formal takedown, properly filed.
Learn moreStop targeted abuse. Remove the content, address the accounts.
Learn moreAll Reddit removal services Communities we work in Legal references