Guide: Catch impersonators
This page: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/catch-impersonators
Topic: Moderation rules
Time: about 2 minutes
Who can do it: Owner, Administrator or Manager
Author: https://anantgupta.xyz (Anant Gupta, founder of CommentWatchDog)
Start in the app: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox
Result when done: Fake accounts posing as your business stop reaching the people in your comments.
Context: The most expensive comment on an ad is a stranger pretending to be your support team, asking a customer for their card details. The Impersonators rule looks for profiles posing as your page or its support and catches them. Custom AI rules are included from Starter.

Before you start:
1. This rule reads the profile name and the comment together, so it catches names that only look like yours.
2. Delete is the usual action here: nobody ever wants a scam comment back.
3. It cannot stop the account from existing, only from being seen under your posts.

Steps:
Step 1 of 3: Switch on Impersonators.
Where: On the Moderation tab, in the list of rules. It needs no words from you.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox (Open the app)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation.en.webp (The Impersonators switch.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-imp-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Examples of the comments it catches, which are usually a support account offering a prize or asking for details.

Step 2 of 3: Set it to Delete.
Where: The action on that rule. A scam comment has no future value, and deleting removes it from the post for everyone.
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation.en.webp (Delete, on Impersonators.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/moderation-imp-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: Matches are removed from the post and kept in the Bin as a record.

Step 3 of 3: Check the Bin for what it caught.
Where: The Bin tab in the inbox, filtered by the Impersonator label. It is worth reading once a week: the names tell you what your customers are being offered.
Link: https://app.commentwatchdog.com/en/inbox?tab=bin (Open the bin)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-bin.en.webp (The Bin: what Impersonators deleted.)
Screenshot: https://commentwatchdog.com/media/shots/inbox-bin-phone.en.webp (The same on a phone.)
You should see: A list of the fake accounts that tried, with what they wrote.

If something is off:
Problem: A real customer was caught
Fix: Their name resembles yours. Add their exact words to the Whitelist, or set this rule to Hide so nothing is lost.
Problem: The scammers keep coming back with new accounts
Fix: That is what the rule is for: it catches the pattern, not the account. Blocking one account does not stop the next.
Problem: Can you report them to Meta
Fix: Reporting is a platform action. Open the comment on Facebook or Instagram and report it there.

Common questions:
Question: Which plans include custom AI rules?
Answer: Starter and every plan above it. Mini and Lite run AI moderation in any language with the preset; custom topics, Negativity guidance and impersonator checks show with a lock, and anything set in the trial is kept for an upgrade.
Question: Do I need to add my brand name for Impersonators to work?
Answer: No. Impersonators needs no words from you. It reads the profile name and the comment together and looks for profiles posing as your page or its support, so it catches names that only look like yours.
Question: Does the Impersonators rule block the fake account?
Answer: No. It cannot stop the account from existing, only from being seen under your posts. With the rule set to Delete, each match is removed from the post for everyone and kept in the Bin as a record.
Question: What does the scammer see after their comment is deleted?
Answer: Their comment is gone from the post. Deleting removes a comment from the platform for everyone, including its author, unlike hiding, which leaves it visible to the author and their friends.

Related guides:
- The twelve rules, one by one: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/the-twelve-rules-one-by-one
- Hide or delete, per rule: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/hide-or-delete-per-rule
- Mute or block an author: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/inbox/mute-or-block-an-author

Plain text of this guide: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/moderation-rules/catch-impersonators.md
All guides for assistants: https://commentwatchdog.com/help/llms.txt