In September 2026, the Nigeria Police Force announced an arrest in a scheme that used fake social media accounts to impersonate the Registrar of JAMB. Earlier in the year, the Nigerian Army warned that someone was impersonating the Chief of Army Staff online. If senior officials are being copied, so are executives, pastors and business owners. Here is why fake social media accounts work so well, and what you can do when one appears with your name and face on it.
How fake social media accounts are being used in Nigeria
An impersonation account borrows trust. It copies your photo, your bio and sometimes your posts, then contacts people who already know or respect you.
The JAMB case is a textbook example. According to News Central, police said a syndicate created accounts in the Registrar’s name and offered “official” JAMB services to the public. One suspect allegedly posed as the Registrar’s personal assistant and used a dead nephew’s bank account to hide his identity. Police are still looking for the alleged ringleader.
The Nigerian Army issued a similar warning in January 2026, stating that the Chief of Army Staff “does not maintain any official social media presence on any platform”, as reported by Arise News. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also flagged fake Facebook, X and Instagram accounts using a Permanent Secretary’s name.
Why impersonation hurts more than your feed
It is tempting to treat a fake profile as a nuisance. It rarely stays one. The damage usually lands in three places:
- Money. Followers are asked for “processing fees”, investment deposits or emergency loans in your name.
- Trust. When victims realise they were scammed, some of the anger falls on you, even though you did nothing wrong.
- Search results. Fake accounts can rank for your name, so anyone researching you may land on them first.
Public figures face an extra twist. A copied account can post statements you never made, and screenshots of those posts travel far faster than any correction. For a business owner, a fake customer-service page can quietly drain both revenue and goodwill.
There is a quieter cost as well. Partners, investors and journalists who stumble on a convincing fake may never mention it to you. They simply become a little more cautious, and you never learn why a meeting went cold.
The longer an impersonation account stays up, the more people it reaches and the harder it is to contain.
What to do when you find an impersonator
Move quickly, but in order:
- Capture it. Screenshot the profile, the username, the link and any messages sent to your contacts.
- Warn your circle. Post a short notice on your real accounts naming the fake handle. Keep it calm and factual.
- Report it on the platform. Every major network has an impersonation reporting route. Ask trusted contacts to report it too.
- Report fraud. If money has changed hands, the police advise reporting to the National Cybercrime Centre.
Then think about prevention. Verify your official accounts where the platform allows it, list them on your website, and tell staff and family how you will and will not contact them. A clear line such as “I never ask for money by DM” protects people before the next copycat appears.
When one fake account becomes many
Impersonation rarely stops at a single profile. Take one down and two more often appear, sometimes across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and Telegram at once. Busy people do not have time to monitor all of that, and platform reports can stall without the right evidence.
That is where a specialist team helps. Repudia’s fake account and impersonation removal service focuses on finding copycat profiles and getting them taken down, while reputation monitoring watches for new ones so you are not caught off guard again.
Conclusion
Fake social media accounts succeed because they borrow a name people already trust. Capture the evidence, warn your audience, report every account and set clear rules about how you communicate. If someone is impersonating you or your business right now, we can help you shut it down discreetly. Your first consultation is complimentary.
