How to find out who is behind a fake Facebook Account

Quick Overview

Summary

The article outlines practical steps to identify those behind fake Facebook accounts. It discusses gathering evidence, checking account creation dates, analyzing post times and writing style, testing linked phone numbers or emails, investigating connected social accounts, and using investigative tools. It also notes evolving platform privacy features may impact investigation effectiveness.

Key Points

• Check the account's creation and last update dates for suspicious timing.
• Analyze the time of posts to correlate with suspects' activities.
• Look for unique writing style or repeated language errors.
• Test known phone numbers or emails through Facebook's password recovery.
• Investigate engagement or mutual connections for additional clues.
• Consider premium investigative tools for deeper searches.
• Take privacy features into account as they may affect available information.

FAQ

How can I tell when a Facebook account was created?

Visit the profile page to see the account creation and last update dates provided by Facebook.

What clues can writing style provide?

Misspellings, grammar habits, and repeated phrases may help match posts to a suspect.

How can I check if an email or phone number is linked to a fake account?

Use Facebook's 'Forgotten Password' feature to see if the contact details are tied to an account.

Do privacy features impact investigations?

Yes, new privacy settings like locked accounts restrict profile access and can complicate investigations.

Table of contents

1. 7 Ways to Find Out Who Is Behind a Fake Facebook Account
   1. 1. How to check when a Facebook account was created
   2. 2. How posting times can help identify anonymous users
   3. 3. How to Find the Unique Facebook ID
   4. 4. How writing style can reveal who is behind a Facebook account
   5. 5. How to check what email or phone number is linked to a Facebook account
   6. 6. How examining connected accounts can help
   7. 7. How Investigators Trace Fake Facebook Accounts
2. How to video
3. Investigating fake Facebook accounts in 2026
   1. What about Australia’s social media age restrictions?
4. Social media experts to investigate a Facebook account

Trolls and cyberbullies often turn to fake Facebook accounts to hide who they really are. And with AI now making it easier to generate realistic account pictures and convincing content, creating a fake online persona that appears completely anonymous has never been easier.

But being anonymous online doesn’t necessarily mean being untraceable. Even a convincing fake account can leave clues about the person behind it, and some are surprisingly simple to find if you know where to look.

The good news is that you can start with information that is already available to you. You don’t necessarily need sophisticated investigative technology, as some of the most useful clues can be found on Facebook itself simply by knowing what to look for and paying attention to details that are easy to overlook.

Our licensed investigators look at these types of clues when investigating fake and anonymous social media accounts. In this guide, we’ll show you seven practical checks that may help you learn more about a fake account and narrow down who could be behind it.

We’ll show you how to:

• Check when the Facebook account was created and updated
• See the exact time content was published
• Find the account’s unique Facebook ID
• Identify patterns in writing style, tone and language
• Check whether known phone numbers or email addresses are connected to Facebook
• Examine other accounts and interactions for possible connections
• Use investigative tools to find information associated with a suspect’s phone number 

We’ve also included a demonstration video so you can see some of these techniques in action.

7 Ways to Find Out Who Is Behind a Fake Facebook Account

Before you start, make sure you collect the evidence.

If the account is being used for harassment, impersonation or defamation, gather as much information as you can before you start investigating it.

You should:

• Take screenshots of messages, posts, comments and other content published by the user
• Save the account URL and any other identifying information
• Record a timeline of relevant events and interactions
• Avoid reporting the account straight away, as the person behind it may simply delete it or create another one

Keeping the account active gives you more time to gather information and look for clues that could help establish their identity. It can also make a big difference if you later decide to engage investigators like us. Having access to an active account, along with any screenshots, links and other details you have saved, gives our investigators a much better starting point.

1. How to check when a Facebook account was created

Start with something simple: how long has the Facebook account been around?

Facebook now displays when an account joined the platform, as well as how long ago the account was last updated. To check, simply click on the account’s display name. Facebook will show additional information, including a “Joined Facebook” date and an “account updated” timeframe. While these dates might seem like small details, they can provide useful clues when you compare them with what was happening when the account first appeared.

For example, say an anonymous account suddenly appears the day after a breakup or workplace dispute. The timing alone does not tell you who created it, but it may help narrow down your list of suspects. If the account is also brand new and has little genuine activity, that could be another clue that it was created for a specific purpose.

There is one catch, though. The “account updated” timeframe should be treated with caution.

During one of our investigations, our social media investigators examined a fake Facebook account that Facebook claimed had been “updated 35 years ago”. That is clearly impossible, given Facebook was not launched until 2004.

And our example does not appear to be an isolated one. In a Reddit post, one user reported seeing a Facebook account listed as having been “updated 44 years ago”, long before Facebook even existed.

It is unclear why Facebook displays dates like these, but our example and the Reddit report are useful reminders that this information is not always reliable. If the timeframe clearly does not make sense, avoid relying on it to determine when an account was actually updated.

Our team conducted further testing and found that, unlike the “account updated” timeframe, the “Joined Facebook” dates we checked appeared to be accurate. While this does not guarantee that every date displayed by Facebook will be correct, it suggests that the “Joined Facebook” date may be a more reliable indicator when trying to establish how long an account has been around.

Even so, don’t rely on this information alone. Think of it as one piece of the puzzle and compare it with the other clues you can find on the Facebook account.

2. How posting times can help identify anonymous users

The time someone posts on Facebook can tell you more than you might think.

Similar to the above tip, you can view when a post was published. Facebook normally shows the date a post was published, but if you are using a desktop computer, you can hover your mouse over the date to see the exact time it was posted. This small detail can be surprisingly useful when you are trying to work out who might be behind an anonymous account.

Look for patterns. Does the account tend to post late at night, during business hours or at particular times of the day? Over several posts, these patterns may give you clues about the person’s routine and when they are most likely online. 

The timing of posts can be really helpful if you already have someone in mind. If you know what they were doing around the time a post appeared, you can use that information to see whether the timing lines up. 

3. How to Find the Unique Facebook ID

Every Facebook account has a unique numerical ID assigned to it. An account may update its name, account picture or username over time, but its Facebook ID will never change.

In some cases, the ID is easy to spot because it already appears in the account URL. However, if the URL contains a username instead, you can use online Facebook ID lookup tools to find the ID associated with the account.

So, why is this useful? 

Recording the Facebook ID can be important for both your investigation and documenting your findings. Imagine you are checking an anonymous Facebook account with a display name “Jane Doe”. A few days later, the display name changes its name to “Samantha Smith” and updates its username and account picture. Searching for the original name or username might make it difficult to find the Facebook account again. 

This is where having the Facebook ID can make a difference. Because it stays with the account, the ID provides a consistent reference that can help connect the account back to your original findings.

4. How writing style can reveal who is behind a Facebook account

Whilst language analysis can be done by experts at an extremely high level, it’s not hard to look at the words the offender says to see if you can find any clues. Are there any words they continuously misspell? Or is there something unique in how they phrase their sentences? 

When looking through posts, comments or messages, keep an eye out for things like:

• use of emojis, abbreviations or slang
• repeated spelling mistakes
• grammar and punctuation habits
• unusual words or phrases 
• tone of the content

Once you start noticing these patterns, compare them with the writing of people you suspect may be behind the Facebook account. One matching spelling mistake probably means very little, but several recurring similarities across posts can start to become more interesting.

Of course, AI has made this type of analysis more difficult, as people can now use tools like ChatGPT or Gemini to write or polish their posts and hide some of their usual writing habits. But clues can still slip through, especially in comments or more casual posts.

Writing style alone may not identify someone, but it can still provide useful clues when combined with other findings.

5. How to check what email or phone number is linked to a Facebook account

You can check if a phone number or email address is registered to a Facebook account. This is an investigative technique that can be crucial in revealing who is behind a fake Facebook account. Our investigators regularly use this technique during social media investigations to test whether known contact details are associated with an account.

1. Navigate to the Facebook login page (you need to be logged out of Facebook or open an incognito window) and click “Forgotten Password?”
2. On the next screen, you’ll see an option to find your account by entering a mobile number or email address. If you have someone you suspect could be behind the fake account, and you know their contact details, you can enter them here to see if they are even linked to a Facebook account.  
3. Facebook will then display if the contact details are linked to an account. And sometimes, it even pulls the fake Facebook profile photo across, which can confirm who is behind the account.

In the video below, we show you how this works. The email address we enter leads directly to the target Facebook account, giving us a clear link between the contact details and the account. In a real investigation, a connection like this could be a valuable clue in working out who is behind an anonymous account.

6. How examining connected accounts can help

Sometimes the best clues are not on the fake account itself, but in the people interacting with it.

Start by looking at who likes, comments on or shares the account’s posts. You may notice mutual connections with someone you already suspect, or the same people regularly engaging with the account. Even if the friends list is private, these public interactions can still reveal useful connections.

If you’re looking at a long-established account or even a Facebook page. Then we always recommend looking back at some of the very first posts the page or account has published. When a accountis first created, the person behind it may be less careful about keeping it separate from their real identity. A personal account liking a post, leaving a comment or otherwise interacting with the account early on could reveal a connection that becomes less obvious later.

7. How Investigators Trace Fake Facebook Accounts

If you have the phone number of someone you suspect may be behind a fake Facebook account, there are other ways you can investigate that connection.

Cybertrace’s Phone Number Advanced Search tool lets you search a mobile number to see what information may be connected to it online. For $9.90 per search, the results may uncover useful details such as usernames, account pictures, aliases or linked social media accounts.

You can then compare what you find with the fake Facebook account and look for any matching details.

How to video

Some of these techniques are easier to understand when you can see exactly how they work.

In the video below, our social media investigators demonstrate several of the tips covered in this guide and show you what to look for when investigating a fake Facebook account.

Investigating fake Facebook accounts in 2026

As technology and social media platforms continue to evolve, so do privacy settings, security features, investigative methods and even laws in certain countries relating to social media use. These changes directly affect how fake Facebook accounts are created and how they can be investigated.

In recent years we’ve seen the roll-out of the Facebook ‘locked account’ feature. Allowing users to lock their own accounts and implement the strictest possible privacy on their account. This can make investigating a fake account more challenging, as the account content, images and other data are limited. Even the account’s profile image is not accessible in high resolution.

At the same time, Facebook has introduced other information that can actually be useful when checking whether an account is genuine. As we covered earlier, details such as when an account joined Facebook and when it was last updated can provide additional clues, although some information should still be treated with caution. 

Then there is AI. Creating a convincing fake account is now easier, realistic images can be generated in seconds, while AI-written content can make writing style harder to compare. 

But AI does not necessarily hide everything. Other details, such as posting times, account history, interactions and connections, may still provide useful clues.

What about Australia’s social media age restrictions?

In December 2025, the Australian government implemented age-restriction laws to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or using accounts on many social media platforms, including Facebook. The age restrictions are a world first that has gained the attention of many other countries.

While these laws are not specifically aimed at fake accounts, they are another example of how the social media landscape continues to change. Platforms are introducing new ways to verify users, protect personal information and control who can access account content, all of which can affect the information available during an investigation.

Investigative capabilities also continue to increase as new technology and solutions are created. Platforms also provide users with stronger privacy settings and greater control over their digital footprint. 

At Cybertrace, we continually update our methods as Facebook and other social media platforms change. Even when an account is locked or contains very little public information, there may still be other avenues available to investigate who is behind it.

Social media experts to investigate a Facebook account

If you have tried the tips provided in this guide and haven’t revealed who is behind the anonymous account. Then you may require professional assistance from our social media investigators. With unrivalled expertise and custom-built internal technology like our trace dummy analyzer tool and access to large databases. Cybertrace remains an authority globally when it comes to revealing who is behind anonymous online accounts.

We use a combination of technical investigative techniques in order to find out who is behind a fake Facebook account. Our team of expert social media investigators is constantly updating and developing new tools to expose cyber bullies and online harassers. By always staying ahead of the latest technological developments, we are constantly improving our ability to pinpoint vital identifying information.  

In 2025, for example, Cybertrace worked with influencer Indy Clinton to investigate the person behind a fake Instagram account that had been active for years and attracted more than 20,000 followers. Following the investigation, Indy confronted the person responsible, who apologised and deleted the account!

Over the years, Cybertrace has helped identify the people behind anonymous accounts in cases involving online harassment, cyberbullying, impersonation, romance scams and defamation. Our licensed private investigators specialise in these types of investigations and work with clients around the world.

Our clients include individuals, businesses, celebrities and government organisations internationally. Our findings have also supported investigations and legal matters.

We offer a free, confidential consultation to discuss your situation and assess your case. Our investigators can assess your situation, explain what options may be available and give you a better understanding of the likelihood of successfully identifying the person behind the account.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in July 2021 and has been updated in April 2026 for accuracy and comprehensiveness.