Let’s Set the Scene
You’ve built your brand from the ground up, with purpose, care, and consistency. Then one day, someone pops up online mimicking your every move. Your name, your visuals, your website, even your Instagram handle (just one letter off).
This goes much further than just frustrating. It requires full-blown crisis management.
And in an age where everything rides on digital perception, the stakes are even higher than ever.
So what should you do if your brand is being impersonated? At Omni Online, we’ve seen it happen, we’ve handled it, we’re here to walk you through exactly what to do to prevent it from happening moving forward.
Why Brand Impersonation Is On The Rise
As your visibility and presence grows, so does your appeal to scammers, with a 30% spike in social media impersonations over the past two years, specifically across Meta Platforms and TikTok.
Often, these fake profiles are created to:
- Scam your customers with fake promos or sales
- Harvest data or install malware via phishing links
- Damage your SEO or mislead your community
For purpose-led brands, this is a threat to the trust you’ve built.
A Real-World Wake-Up Call
Just a few weeks into a partnership with a new eCommerce brand, our team at Omni Online spotted something off.
Someone had launched a fake website and Instagram using our client’s exact branding; right down to the same copy, images, offers and instagram handle (with just dropping the “aus” at the end).
Here’s what we did, fast:
- Reported the impersonating Instagram account to Meta and flagged the domain to the host
- Collected evidence (screenshots, timestamps, URLs) to support takedown requests
- Worked with our client’s legal team to draft cease-and-desist language
- Alerted the brand’s community via social and email – ensuring they didn’t get duped
- Monitored and suppressed the fake page’s SEO footprint
- Advised the community to avoid visiting the fake website, as increased traffic could signal relevance to Google’s algorithm – potentially boosting its search ranking.
If It Happens to You: First Moves Matter
Whether it’s a lookalike site, a spoofed IG page or a phishing email in your name, here’s what we recommend you do:
1. Gather Your Receipts
Don’t confront them. Collect documents.
- Screenshots of pages, posts, and fake URLs
- Take note of usernames, timestamps, and any customer complaints
- Emails if phishing is involved
- Any communication from confused customers
2. Report the Impersonation Fast
Each platform has a direct way of reporting impersonations:
- Meta (Facebook & Instagram): Impersonation Report
- TikTok: TikTok Report Form
- Website Hosts: Report fraudulent domains to providers like GoDaddy, Shopify, Cloudflare or others
Not sure who’s hosting the fake site? Use a tool like WHOIS, which is a public directory that shows who owns a domain and where it’s registered. This can help you identify the hosting provider and contact them directly with a takedown request.
3. Alert Your Audience
We all know by now that honesty builds trust, and the sooner your audience is aware of the situation, the better.
- Get ahead of the confusion with an official announcement across all main channels
- Be transparent; this will build trust, not fear
- Let your followers and customers know what you’re doing and how they can help (report, avoid the fake site)
4. Get Expert Support
This is when it helps to have a digital team on speed dial; not just to remove the copycats, but to mitigate the fallout.
How to Protect Your Brand Long-Term
(So you don’t get caught off guard in the future)
Copycats target brands that are gaining traction. The more visible your success, the more attractive you are. But here’s how you stay one step ahead:
1. Lock Down Your Digital Real Estate
- Secure domain variations (.com.au, .co, .store etc.)
- Claim your handle on emerging platforms even if you’re not active yet
- Prioritise verifying your accounts across your platforms
2. Monitor Your Brand Proactively
Tools like:
- Google Alerts for your name and product keywords
- Brand24 or Mention for social impersonators
- Originality.ai to detect duplicate website content
3. Register Trademarks
Even if you’re a small brand, Trademarking gives legal teeth to your takedown requests, and deters copycats.
4. Build a Loyal, Informed Community
If someone tries to impersonate you, your audience should be the first to notice and report it. That’s only possible if they know your tone, visuals and values inside and out.
An audience that knows your tone, visuals, and values is your first line of defence, and they’ll spot the impersonator sometimes before you do.
What Not to Do
We see this too often, and it backfires:
- Don’t ignore it: Imposters can cause damage fast
- Don’t engage directly: This legitimises them and gives them more attention
- Don’t delete your real accounts: You’ll lose your verified history and proof of ownership
Final Thought: The More You Grow, the More Likely You’ll Be Imitated
Brand impersonation is (weirdly) a sign you’re doing something right. But growth without protection is risky.
If you’ve found yourself asking, “What would we do if someone copied our brand?”, then let’s talk.
At Omni Online, we’re not your typical agency. We don’t wait for a crisis to react, we build systems that protect your brand from day one.
Book a free digital alignment call to get clear on how to protect your brand, and scale with confidence.
