If you've come across an ad on Instagram or Facebook using your brand's logo, name, or corporate imagery — and it's not yours — you're likely looking at a fraud attempt. In this article, we explain how to report a fake META (Instagram/Facebook) ad and why doing so once may not be enough.
How do you spot a fake ad first?
Scammers typically avoid putting the brand name in the ad copy to dodge security filters, hiding it only inside the image/banner instead. That means reading the ad text may reveal nothing unusual — the problem is hidden inside the creative. Before clicking, check whether the advertiser's username exactly matches your real brand, whether the account has a verification badge, and whether the ad leads to your known official website or a suspicious domain.
Step-by-step reporting process
- Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the ad
- Select "Report Ad"
- Choose "Intellectual property violation" or "Scam / fraud" as the violation type
- You may also need to submit proof of brand ownership separately through META's Brand Rights form
Why isn't a single report enough?
META's ad approval system is heavily automation-based; even if one ad account is suspended, scammers can relaunch the same ad from a new account within minutes. Fake ads also commonly:
- Run in multiple versions simultaneously with different country/region targeting
- Operate as short-lived campaigns that may reach thousands before you notice
- Redirect to phishing pages that steal user data
The lasting solution: continuous monitoring
Instead of one-off reports, you need 24/7 automated scanning of all sponsored ads run under your brand, detection of both text- and image-based violations, and fast reporting backed by evidence packages. Achernar's META Ads Monitoring service does exactly this: it detects violations hidden inside the creative in under 15 seconds, even when your brand name never appears in the ad copy.
If you're dealing with a similar problem with ads on Google, take a look at our Google ADS Monitoring service.