A customer sends you a screenshot. It is a sponsored result or a social ad with your name on it, your colors, maybe your logo, and it leads to a page or phone number that is not yours. The first worry is that someone has paid the wrong party. The second is that they will blame you.
Do not click through, and do not reply to the advertiser yet. Save the exact ad URL, a screenshot, the date and time, and anything the customer sent you. Then the reporting can start, and every report works better with that record in hand.
Fake sites and ads using your business name can travel together: the ad is what customers click, and the page behind it is where the money or details go. If you are dealing with a copied website that no ad points to, our post on what to do when Google confuses your business with a scam site covers that case. The ad comes first here, because it is the part you can report first.
Key Takeaways
Capture the exact ad URL, screenshots, date and time, copied branding, payment instructions and customer messages first. A vague complaint gives the platform little to act on.
A scam or phishing ad goes through Google's phishing report. A deceptive use of your trademark goes through the Google Ads Trademark Troubleshooter or the trademark complaint process.
Report the Profile, Page or account through its report menu, and add a trademark report when a registered mark or counterfeit goods are involved.
Google can restrict an ad or result in its products but cannot delete the page from its host, and a trademark complaint is not a universal takedown.
Official forms, a customer notice and saved evidence cover a single case. Help earns its fee when there are many domains, accounts, countries or paid campaigns.
Get the ad ready to report in ten minutes
A report that names the exact ad gets read differently from one that says "someone is using our name." Platforms and registrars ask for specific URLs, and Google's legal removal form asks for each URL, not only a homepage. So, the record you build now is the thing every later step leans on.
Open only enough to identify the ad or result. Do not enter credentials, make a payment, download a file or call a number that appears only on the suspicious page. Then save the following:
- The ad and landing page URLs: The full address of each, not just the domain.
- Screenshots with the date and time: Show the ad, the landing page and any phone number or email address it displays.
- Copied branding: Your logo, your wording, your photos or your service descriptions, wherever they appear.
- Payment instructions: Any account, link or method the page asks customers to use.
- Customer messages and transactions: What was said, what was sent and when.
- Account details: The advertiser name shown on the ad, or the Page or profile URL on Meta.
Keep one running note with report IDs and confirmation numbers as you go.
Report a fake Google ad and get it in front of the right team
Google sorts these complaints by what the ad does. If the ad is a scam or tries to collect details, use Google's route for reporting a problem with Google Search. Google says phishing is commonly carried out through email, ads or sites made to look like familiar ones, and it directs people to report phishing pages and sponsored phishing results.
If the complaint is that someone is using your registered trademark in an ad, identify the advertiser and the exact ad URL, then use the Google Ads Trademark Troubleshooter or the trademark complaint process. Google's trademark policy draws a line that matters for what you write in the report. The restriction generally concerns the trademark appearing in the ad itself, not merely its use as a keyword or in a domain name. The policy also recognizes legitimate resellers, compatible products and informational sites.
A deceptive ad is often called a trademark violation when the stronger route is the scam or impersonation report. Pick the one that matches the evidence you saved, and avoid mixing claims you cannot support. For legal claims, Google's Legal Help center asks for each specific URL.
Report the fake Facebook or Instagram account behind the ad
For Facebook or Instagram, report the profile, Page or account that is posing as your business, using the platform's report menu and choosing the option for impersonating a business or organization. Facebook's help center covers the imposter account route alongside hacked-account recovery. A copied account does not mean your real account was hacked, though it is worth a quick check that your passwords and admin list are intact.
When the conduct also involves a registered trademark, counterfeit goods or copyrighted material, add a report through Meta's intellectual-property route. Meta's guidance for protecting your business is the current reference for what the company asks owners to do.
Menus and eligibility vary by account and region, so follow the labels shown on the affected account rather than a screenshot from someone else's walkthrough. Save the account URL, the ad URL, your screenshots, the customer messages and every report ID.
Reach the page behind the ad through its registrar and host
An ad lives on a platform, but the page it sends people to lives somewhere else. Removing the ad does not remove that page. Google can remove or restrict an ad or result in its own products, and it cannot delete content from the hosting site, so the page can stay reachable by direct link.
If you are asked how to report a website impersonating your business, the short answer is this: look up the registrar, send it an abuse report, and contact the host separately. Use ICANN Lookup to find the registrar and its abuse contact. ICANN's guide to submitting DNS abuse complaints says the registrar is often the best first contact for one or a small number of abusive domains.
Describe the abuse in terms the registrar acts on. ICANN's DNS abuse program defines it as botnets, malware, pharming, phishing and spam when spam delivers one of those harms. A registrar that fails to respond after a reasonable time can be reported to ICANN Contractual Compliance, though ICANN does not transfer domains or remove ordinary website content.
| What you found | Where to report | What it can do |
|---|---|---|
| A scam or phishing ad or result | Google's phishing report for Search | Restrict or remove it in Google products |
| An ad that uses your trademark | Google Ads Trademark Troubleshooter or trademark complaint | Review the ad under Google's trademark policy |
| A fake Facebook or Instagram account | The platform's report menu, as impersonating a business | Remove or restrict the account under platform rules |
| Counterfeit goods or a registered mark on Meta | Meta's intellectual-property route | Review the content under platform rules |
| The page the ad points to | The registrar's abuse contact, then the host | Act on domain-level abuse, or on hosted content |
| Money lost or personal details shared | ReportFraud.ftc.gov, bank or card issuer, IdentityTheft.gov | Record the fraud and protect the customer |
Protect customers with a notice that gives them the real details
While the reports are pending, customers still need a way to tell you from the fake. Publish a short notice on your official website and on the verified social accounts customers already recognize. Give your exact domain, your phone number, your payment methods and your support channels. Say that the ad, site or account is not operated by your business.
Do not repeat the scam URL as a clickable link, because that sends more people to it. When you know who has interacted with the fake, contact them directly. A notice like that also helps with the other worry, which is blame. If a customer pays the wrong party and then leaves you a review about it, our post on removing negative search results about your business covers what can and cannot come down.
Know when to report fraud to the FTC or the police
Report impersonation and fraud to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov; the FTC also has instructions for using ReportFraud. The FTC describes a business impersonator scam as a call, message, email or social post that appears to come from a known business but seeks payment or personal information.
If customers lost money or shared personal details, send them to their bank or card issuer and to IdentityTheft.gov. Report threats, extortion, theft, harassment or an identifiable suspect to local police. For internet-enabled fraud, the FTC's small business guidance also points to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
A similar name or a similar domain is not proof of criminal impersonation. It can be a competitor, a reseller, a directory or a descriptive use. If you are unsure, our post on a business name too close to a competitor helps you sort the cases.
One more caution. After a report, a "recovery service" may contact you, asking for your login details or an upfront fee to remove the ad. Stop there, use only the official forms linked above, and never hand over credentials, which can turn one incident into two.
Catch the next fake sooner
A fake can be replaced by a new one, so a few steady habits shorten the time between the first customer click and your first report.
Set Google Alerts for your exact business name, common misspellings, slogan, phone number and domain. Google says alerts can be adjusted by frequency, source type, language, region and result volume. Search your name in quotation marks combined with words such as "login," "support," "refund," "customer service," "official" and "phone number," and search social platforms separately.
Check lookalike domains too: omitted letters, added words, hyphens and other endings. Search results are not complete, so customer reports still matter. Tell your staff to forward any strange customer message the same day.
Whether to run your own ads on your business name is a separate decision, and our post on bidding on your own business name walks through it.
Decide whether to finish this yourself or bring in help
A single incident can usually be handled by the owner in an hour or two with the official forms, a customer notice and the evidence you saved. Hiring help is not automatically necessary, and anyone who promises a guaranteed removal is promising something no platform, registrar or host guarantees.
Help is worth paying for in specific situations: many domains or accounts, several countries or platforms, paid campaigns, customer losses, a compromised legitimate account, or nobody on your team with the time to monitor and document the incident. A repeat appearance of the same impersonator also fits here.
What a provider can coordinate is the paperwork and follow-through: evidence, reports to each platform, customer messages, monitoring and follow-up. What no provider can promise is that a given report will succeed.
Can you handle this fake ad yourself?
Pick an answer to begin.
1. What should you do before reporting a fake ad?
2. Does a successful Google report delete the scam page?
3. A company emails you offering to remove the fake ad if you send your login and a fee first. What should you do?
Frequently Asked Questions About Fake Sites and Ads Using Your Business Name
How do I report a fake Google ad using my business name?
Save the ad and landing page URLs first. For a scam or phishing ad, use Google's phishing report for Search. For a deceptive use of your trademark, use the Google Ads Trademark Troubleshooter or the trademark complaint process. No route promises removal.
How do I report a website impersonating my business?
Find the registrar with ICANN Lookup and send its abuse contact a report, then contact the host separately for hosted content. Report the host separately for the content it stores.
What do I do if someone is using my business name?
Save the evidence, make the platform report, post a customer notice with your real domain, phone number and payment methods, then report fraud to the FTC or police where money or personal information is involved.
How do I report a fake Facebook or Instagram business account?
Open the profile, Page or account, use its report menu and choose the option for impersonating a business or organization. Menus vary by account and region, so follow the labels you see.
Can Google remove the fake website?
Google may remove or restrict an ad or result in its products, but it cannot delete content from the hosting site, so the page may stay reachable by its direct link.
Should I report it to the FTC?
Yes, when the conduct involves fraud, customer payments, personal information or impersonation. Use ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and send affected customers to their bank, card issuer and IdentityTheft.gov.
What This Means for You
Start with the record: the exact ad URL, screenshots, date and time, and customer messages. Report the ad where it lives, whether that is Google's phishing report, the Trademark Troubleshooter or Meta's impersonation report. Then reach the registrar and host for the page behind it, post a customer notice with your real details, and report fraud to the FTC or police if money or personal information changed hands.
Each of those steps is within an owner's reach, and finishing them leaves you with a dated paper trail, customers who know how to reach the real business, and alerts that catch the next copy early. Results depend on each company's own review, so keep every report ID for follow-up.
If the incident is bigger than an afternoon, Web Leveling can coordinate the evidence, reports, customer messages and monitoring through our online reputation work, and check whether your own site and accounts are secure with a website security audit. We cannot promise a platform will remove anything, and we will tell you when the forms are enough on their own. We work with small and medium businesses across the country and overseas. Tell us what the fake ad looks like, and we will help you decide what comes next.
Terms
Words used in this post
Tap a term to see what it means.
Impersonation. Posing as a known business to get payment or personal information from its customers.
Phishing. A message, ad or site made to look familiar so people hand over details or money.
Registrar. The company that registers a domain name and holds its abuse contact.
Host. The company whose servers store and serve a website's content.
DNS abuse. Botnets, malware, pharming, phishing and spam used to deliver those harms, as ICANN defines it.
Trademark Troubleshooter. Google Ads' tool for reporting an ad that uses a trademark in the ad itself.
