Do you know Facebook has removed over 1.3 billion fake accounts by the end of 2022? Fake accounts proliferate across popular social media platforms beyond just Facebook, posing risks to users’ privacy and digital interactions.

To make sure you’re connecting with genuine individuals online rather than bots or malicious actors, you can follow this guide to verify the authenticity of a Facebook account. If you find someone is impersonating you, you can also investigate who’s the culprit and take appropriate action.

Is it possible to trace who’s behind a fake Facebook account?

The simple answer is Yes, but the methods may vary depending on the type of account. A bot-created Facebook account is usually easy to recognize, showing some telltale signs such as:

• Random or nonsensical usernames
• Limited biographical information, posts, or photos
• Unusual engagement; lots of likes and followers but no comments
• Blank friend list
• Perfectly edited avatars that seem like stock images (learn how to spot fake images)

However, it will be more challenging to spot those accounts created by ill-intentioned humans, as they will utilize stolen information and photos to craft authentic-looking profiles. But you can use an advanced username lookup tool to dig up more information about a Facebook account.

1. Run a reverse username search with BeenVerified

BeenVerified is one of the best-known people search engines. Collecting billions of data from public sources and social networks, it allows you to find almost anyone online quickly and conveniently.

Type in a Facebook username, click Search, and you’ll receive a detailed report on the profile.

Wait a couple of minutes for the scanning process. Once it’s completed, you’ll see the potential owner of the Facebook account and possible photos. Click Search person if you also want to access further details such as the person’s contact, social media profiles, background information, and more.

2. Trace social media owner with PeopleLooker

PeopleLooker is another trustworthy tool that features social media searches. All you need is to input a username, whether it’s a Facebook account or Twitter handle, and this tool will comb through public records to locate the person associated with the profile.

Track FB Account >>

It will reveal the possible owner of the social media account and offer you comprehensive background information. You can access it by clicking Search person.

Besides, you could view the related phone numbers and email addresses as well as other profiles of the account owner. 

3. Identify fake Facebook images

Fake Facebook accounts may be using stock images, pictures of celebrities from less recognizable regions, or stealing photos of people on the Internet. So checking the images can be a reliable way to differentiate a real Facebook account from the fake ones. 

Google Images and TinEye are both powerful tools for reverse image search, which identifies sources related to an image and pulls up similar ones. If you’re on a desktop, simply navigate to the Facebook profile you suspect, right-click the avatar or pictures the user shared, and click Search image with Google.

If you’re on the app, save the picture and upload it to Google Images or TinEye. Look through the results to see if the image appears on multiple websites or is associated with different names. If so, the account is likely to be fake.

Note that even if the pictures appear unique or the search yielded no matches across the web, it doesn’t mean the account is authentic. You should remain vigilant and consider other suspicious indicators.

So these are 3 simple ways for you to find out the owner of a fake Facebook account. You can also Google the Facebook username to see if anything related turns up. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Data source: Actioned fake accounts on Facebook worldwide from 4th quarter 2017 to 4th quarter 2022