How to Report a Potential Scam Post on Reddit

Published October 30, 20265 min readBy the RedditPostRemove team

Scammers use Reddit because it is trusted. A friendly comment that links to a "support" page, a post offering a giveaway, or a user pretending to be a company can all be traps. If you see one, you can help by reporting it correctly. If it uses your brand, you may need to do more. This guide explains how to report a scam post on Reddit and what else to do.

Common signs of a scam post

• Urgency or pressure. "Act now", "limited time" or "your account will be closed".
• Requests for payment in unusual ways. Gift cards, crypto, wire transfers or payment apps to personal accounts.
• Requests for logins or codes. Real support teams do not ask for passwords or one-time codes.
• Lookalike links. Web addresses with small spelling changes, extra words or unusual endings.
• Impersonation. A user with a name or logo similar to a real brand, or someone claiming to be an official representative in a private message.
• Too good to be true. Giveaways, investment returns or "guaranteed" profits.
• New or empty accounts. Little history, posting the same message in many places.

Step 1: collect evidence

Scam posts are often deleted as soon as they are noticed. Before you report:

1. Copy the link to the post and the account's profile.
2. Take screenshots of the post, showing the username, community and date.
3. Save any links the post contains, but do not open them casually. Copy the text of the address instead.
4. Note any messages you received from the account.
5. If you are a business, save proof that the logo or name belongs to you.

Step 2: report the post on Reddit

Open the menu on the post and choose Report. Pick the category that fits best. Depending on the post, that may be spam, impersonation or a prohibited transaction or scam. Add a short, factual note, for example: "This account is pretending to be [Company] support and asks for payment by gift card. The link leads to a lookalike domain." Specific, accurate reports are easier to action than general complaints.

Step 3: message the moderators

Moderators of the subreddit can remove scam posts quickly and ban the account. Use the community's "message the mods" option, include the link and a one-line explanation. Many communities have rules against scams, which gives the moderators a clear basis to act.

Step 4: report the account

If the same account keeps posting scams, report the user account too, and block it if you have been targeted by messages. This helps Reddit see the pattern.

Step 5: use legal channels where they apply

If the post uses your trademark or copies your content, Reddit has a legal request process for trademark and a separate copyright process. Both need accurate details. A false statement in a legal notice can have consequences, so only file what you can support.

Step 6: report fraud outside Reddit

Removing the post does not undo the harm. Depending on what happened:

• Your bank or card provider. Tell them at once if you paid or shared financial details.
• The Federal Trade Commission. You can report fraud and scams at the FTC's reporting site.
• The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Report internet-enabled crimes.
• The website host or domain registrar. If the scam uses a lookalike site, an abuse report to the host or registrar can lead to action.

If you have given away a password, change it immediately and turn on two-factor authentication.

Scam post or negative review? Be accurate

Reddit users often post warnings about companies. Some are scams, some are honest complaints and some are mistaken. Reporting a genuine complaint as a scam is not accurate, and it can damage your own credibility. If you are a business, ask yourself: is this account pretending to be us, or is it a customer who is unhappy? For the second case, a calm reply and a fix are better than a report. We explain the approach in How to respond to false claims on Reddit.

What not to do

• Do not reply with your personal information to prove you are real.
• Do not threaten the poster. That can escalate and can break the rules yourself.
• Do not organize friends to mass-report. Coordinated reporting is itself a problem.
• Do not click unknown links on your main device without caution.

Protecting your customers

If a scam uses your brand, tell customers where official communication comes from. Post a notice on your website and official channels: the only addresses you use, the payment methods you accept and the fact that you never ask for passwords. This simple step prevents a lot of harm.

How we can help

Our Reddit scam post removal service reviews the evidence, prepares the reports and follows up on your behalf. We cannot guarantee that Reddit will remove a post or how quickly, but we can make sure that the case is clear and complete, and we explain what else to do outside Reddit. For a general post, see Reddit post removal.

Frequently asked questions