· Original data · 10 platforms · reviewed 31 August 2026 ·
The Platform Scam Report Index. What actually happens after you press report.
Platforms publish their enforcement in the hundreds of millions. What almost none of them publish is what happened to your report. This index asks five questions of 10 platforms and takes every answer from the platform's own pages. Not one of the 10 offers any remedy for money lost. 1 of 10 lets the person who reported appeal the decision.
What the 10 platforms publish
0 of 10
publish any remedy for money lost to a scam that began on their platform. Where the question is answered at all it is answered outward: LinkedIn tells victims to “report it to your local law enforcement”, Meta offers to help you “connect with local agencies”, TikTok points to “local organizations in your country”.
1 of 10
publishes an appeal for the person who made the report. Snapchat is the only platform that addresses it head on, and rules the reporter out: “Only the account owner can appeal a locked account or content removal.” The accused has a published right of reply. The reporter does not.
2 of 10
state that they will tell you what they decided. Facebook shows “the decision we made” in a Support Inbox; X sends “follow-up emails and notifications”. WhatsApp is the only platform that closes the door in writing: “We'll acknowledge receipt of your report, but we will not contact you again.”
1 of 10
lets you report for another person without ambiguity. X asks you to “select who the report is for: Myself, Someone else or a specific group of people, or Everyone on X”. WhatsApp is the clearest no, because reporting requires the conversation to be in your own app, and elder fraud is almost always spotted from outside the chat.
4 of 10
let you name the thing a scam. TikTok is the most direct: “hold down on the screen, tap ‘report,’ and select ‘fraud and scams’.” YouTube has no scam category at all and files it under spam, alongside “get rich quick” schemes and fake job offers.
Why a social platform and not a dating app. The FTC's April 2026 data spotlight records that in 2025, nearly 30% of people who reported losing money to a scam said it started on social media, with $2.1 billion in reported losses, and that nearly 60% of romance-scam losses began on a social platform rather than a dating app. Our Dating App Safety Index covers what the apps verify. This one covers where the money actually goes missing.
Platform by platform
Every answer below is the platform's own published wording, with the page it came from. Where a value reads Not found, it means no platform-owned page we reviewed answered the question. That records the documentation, not the behaviour.
Can you say “scam”?
Yes. The help centre carries a dedicated “Spam, Scams and Phishing” section answering “How do I report a scam?”, and the in-product report flow reaches a scam or fraud reason from a profile, a post or a Messenger conversation.Facebook — Spam, Scams and Phishing
For someone else?
Partly, and only for impersonation. Facebook publishes a route to “report a Facebook profile or Page pretending to be you or someone else”, and states you “can report impersonating Facebook profiles or Pages even if you don't have a Facebook account.” No general route to report a scam aimed at another person was found in the pages reviewed.Facebook — Report a profile or Page pretending to be you or someone else
Told the outcome?
⭐ Yes, and it is the most specific answer in this index. The Support Inbox lets you “see when we take action on your report and the decision we made”, and reports can be cancelled before review. Facebook qualifies it: you “may have the option” to check status.Facebook — Can I check the status of something I've reported?
Can you appeal?
⭐ Yes, for the reporter, and it is the only one in this index. The Support Inbox offers “Request Review of our decision”. Facebook states the limit itself: “For some types of content, you can't request a review, but we're adding more options.”Facebook — Can I check the status of something I've reported?
If money is gone
No platform remedy. Meta's Scam Protection Centre offers to help you “connect with local agencies if you think that you were scammed”, and states that Meta removes scams “when they go against our policies”. Nothing about recovering money.Meta — Scam Protection Centre
The status and review machinery is real and it is the best here. It answers what happened to the content. It does not answer what happened to your money.
Can you say “scam”?
Yes. The help centre's “Abuse, Spam and Scams” hub answers “How do I report Instagram scams?” through the built-in reporting features.Instagram — Abuse, Spam and Scams
For someone else?
Partly, by proxy rather than by design. Instagram states that “if you don't have an Instagram account, you can send us a report with the help of a friend”, which is a route for a non-member rather than a route to report on behalf of a victim. It also states reports are anonymous: “The account you reported won't see who reported them.”Instagram — Abuse, Spam and Scams
Told the outcome?
Not found. No page reviewed on Instagram's own help centre describes telling a reporter what happened to their report. Instagram directs scam questions to Meta's Scam Protection Centre, which does not describe an outcome either. This records the public documentation only.Instagram — Abuse, Spam and Scams · Meta — Scam Protection Centre
Can you appeal?
Not found for the reporter in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.Instagram — Abuse, Spam and Scams
If money is gone
No platform remedy. The same Meta Scam Protection Centre route: connect with local agencies.Meta — Scam Protection Centre
Instagram will take the report and name it a scam. What it publishes stops at the moment you press send.
Can you say “scam”?
Partly. The report action is “Report contact”, not a scam category, though WhatsApp publishes separate guidance on “how to protect yourself from suspicious messages and scams”. Reporting forwards up to five of the sender's recent messages.WhatsApp — About reporting and blocking
For someone else?
No. WhatsApp states that “the only way to report someone is to follow the in-app reporting process”, which requires the conversation to be in your own app. A scam run against your parent in their chat cannot be reported by you.WhatsApp — About reporting and blocking
Told the outcome?
🔴 No, and WhatsApp is the only platform here that says so outright: “We'll acknowledge receipt of your report, but we will not contact you again.” It adds that a report “won't necessarily result in us banning the user”, and that it retains “the right to ban the user without notification”.WhatsApp — About reporting and blocking
Can you appeal?
Not found for the reporter. WhatsApp states that “contacting WhatsApp outside of the in-app review process won't expedite the review process or impact the decision”, which forecloses the usual escalation route without describing an appeal.WhatsApp — About reporting and blocking
If money is gone
Not found in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.WhatsApp — About reporting and blocking
The clearest documentation in this index, and the least on offer. WhatsApp tells you plainly that the conversation ends when you press report.
TikTok
ByteDanceCan you say “scam”?
⭐ Yes, and it is the most explicit wording of any platform here. TikTok's own instruction: “just hold down on the screen, tap ‘report,’ and select ‘fraud and scams’.” It also runs a Frauds and Scams hub in its Community Support centre.TikTok — How We Fight Scams and Fraud on TikTok · TikTok — Frauds & scams, Community Support
For someone else?
Not found on a TikTok-owned page. Third-party guides describe a “report for a friend” option; that is not a platform source and this index does not accept one. Recorded as documentation only, not as an absence of the feature.TikTok — Report a problem
Told the outcome?
Not found. No TikTok-owned page reviewed describes telling a reporter the result of their report. This records the public documentation only.TikTok — Report a problem · TikTok — Frauds & scams, Community Support
Can you appeal?
Not found for the reporter in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.TikTok — Report a problem
If money is gone
No platform remedy. TikTok points people to outside help: its scams hub offers to help you “find local organizations in your country that you can reach out to”.TikTok — Frauds & scams, Community Support
TikTok is the easiest platform on which to say the word scam, and publishes nothing about what saying it achieves.
X
X Corp.Can you say “scam”?
Not found as a named scam or fraud reason. The X Rules cover the conduct under “Misleading and Deceptive Identities”, which prohibits impersonating individuals or organisations “to mislead, confuse, or deceive others”. This records the public documentation only.X — The X Rules
For someone else?
⭐ Yes, and it is the only unambiguous yes in this index. The report flow asks you to “select who the report is for: Myself, Someone else or a specific group of people, or Everyone on X”, and X states that “anyone can report abusive behavior directly from a post, profile, or Direct Message”.X — How to report abusive behavior
Told the outcome?
⭐ Yes. X states it will “include the text of the posts you reported in our follow-up emails and notifications to you”, and offers an opt-out from that. Follow-up is the documented default rather than something you have to go looking for.X — How to report abusive behavior
Can you appeal?
Enforcement and appeals are published as a policy area, but the pages reviewed describe appeals for an account that has been actioned, not for a reporter disputing an outcome. Recorded as documentation only.X — The X Rules, Enforcement and Appeals
If money is gone
Not found in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.X — How to report abusive behavior
The best reporting flow here by some distance, attached to the weakest scam vocabulary. You can report for your mother; you cannot easily tell X that what happened to her was a scam.
YouTube
GoogleCan you say “scam”?
No standalone category. Scams are a clause inside the Spam Policy, which prohibits “Scams: Promoting ‘get rich quick’ investment schemes, fake job offers, or sharing fake ‘customer support’ contact information to steal private data like bank details, passwords, or government IDs.” You report a scam as spam.YouTube — Spam Policy
For someone else?
Not found in the pages reviewed. YouTube states only that “reporting content is anonymous, so other users can't tell who made the report.” This records the public documentation only.YouTube — Report inappropriate content
Told the outcome?
Partly, and only as a lookup. YouTube states that “to check if a video that you reported has been removed, you can view your Report history”, and warns that “when content is reported, it's not automatically taken down”. You are not told a decision; you can check whether the video is gone.YouTube — Report inappropriate content
Can you appeal?
Not for the reporter. The published appeal route, for a Community Guidelines strike or a removal, belongs to the channel that was actioned. This records the public documentation only.YouTube — Appeal a Community Guidelines strike or video removal
If money is gone
Not found in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.YouTube — Report inappropriate content
Report history tells you whether a video disappeared. It cannot tell you whether anyone read your report, and a scam has to be filed under spam to be filed at all.
Snapchat
Snap Inc.Can you say “scam”?
Not found as a named scam reason in the reporting options reviewed, which are organised by surface: Snap, Story, public profile, account, chat message, sticker, sound, ad and Lens. This records the public documentation only.Snapchat — How do I report abuse, illegal content, or other violations?
For someone else?
Not found in the pages reviewed. Snapchat states that reporting is confidential and “the account-holder you reported won't be told who reported them”. This records the public documentation only.Snapchat — Safety Reporting
Told the outcome?
Partly. Snapchat publishes a report status view and states that “our safety team will investigate your report and take action based on our Community Guidelines”. It also states the report is irreversible: “once a report is submitted, it can't be taken back or withdrawn”, and “you can't ‘unreport’ an account, Snap, or message”.Snapchat — What happens after I report abuse or illegal content?
Can you appeal?
🔴 No, and Snapchat is the only platform here that addresses it directly and rules it out: “Only the account owner can appeal a locked account or content removal.” The appeal belongs to the person you reported.Snapchat — What happens after I report abuse or illegal content?
If money is gone
Not found in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.Snapchat — Safety Reporting
The one platform that answers the appeal question in plain words, and the answer is that the right belongs to the other party.
Telegram
Telegram FZ-LLCCan you say “scam”?
Not found as a named scam reason. Telegram publishes a general report route: “All Telegram apps have ‘Report’ buttons that let you flag illegal content for our moderators.” For impersonation specifically it directs users to a channel: “If a scammer is pretending to be you, contact @NoToScam.”Telegram — FAQ
For someone else?
Not found. Reporting runs from the message or chat in front of you, and the impersonation route is framed for the person being impersonated. This records the public documentation only.Telegram — FAQ
Told the outcome?
Not found. Telegram states that “whenever we receive a report regarding potentially illegal public content, we perform the necessary legal checks and take it down when deemed appropriate”, and describes no notification to the reporter. This records the public documentation only.Telegram — FAQ
Can you appeal?
Not for the reporter. Telegram's Spam FAQ exists explicitly “for people whose accounts were limited after being reported for spam”, which is the reported party's route.Telegram — Spam FAQ
If money is gone
Not found in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.Telegram — FAQ
A report button, human moderators, and no published account of what either does for the person who pressed it.
Can you say “scam”?
Yes. LinkedIn publishes a “Recognize and report scams” page naming inheritance and advance-fee fraud, technical support scams and “dating and romance scams”, and instructs: “Contact us if you've received a scam message on LinkedIn.”LinkedIn — Recognize and report scams
For someone else?
Not found in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.LinkedIn — Recognize and report scams
Told the outcome?
Not found. No page reviewed describes telling a reporter what happened. This records the public documentation only.LinkedIn — Recognize and report scams
Can you appeal?
Not found for the reporter in the pages reviewed. This records the public documentation only.LinkedIn — Recognize and report scams
If money is gone
No platform remedy, stated more plainly than anywhere else here: “If you've been the victim of a scam, report it to your local law enforcement.” LinkedIn also points to the FBI's IC3 and the FTC.LinkedIn — Recognize and report scams
The most honest sentence any platform in this index publishes, and it is a referral to the police.
Can you say “scam”?
Not found as a named scam reason. The nearest published policy is impersonation: “Do not impersonate individuals or entities in a misleading or deceptive manner.” This records the public documentation only.Reddit — Impersonation
For someone else?
Partly. Reddit publishes a route for non-members, “how do I report something if I don't have a Reddit account?”, and states you can report “in the app or on reddit.com (if you have a Reddit account) or you can file a report (if you do not).”Reddit — How do I report a post or comment?
Told the outcome?
Not found. The reporting guide describes how to file and how to block the account afterwards, and describes no notification of the result. This records the public documentation only.Reddit — How do I report a post or comment?
Can you appeal?
Reddit publishes a Content Moderation, Enforcement and Appeals area, but the pages reviewed frame appeals around actioned accounts and moderator conduct rather than a reporter disputing an outcome. Recorded as documentation only.Reddit — Impersonation, policy enforcement
If money is gone
Not found in the pages reviewed. Reddit does publish a crisis-support partnership with Crisis Text Line for distress arising from reported content, which is a different need.Reddit — How do I report a post or comment?
You can report without an account, which is more than most offer. What follows is unpublished.
Method, and what this index does not claim
Every value was read on a platform-owned help, policy or safety page on 31 August 2026. Nothing is taken from press coverage, third-party guides or review sites, and no value is inferred from what a comparable platform does. Where a claim could not be confirmed on a platform-owned page it is recorded as “Not found”, which records the public documentation only and is never a finding that the feature does not exist. Several platforms very likely do more than they publish. That gap is itself the subject here.
One field was cut rather than guessed. We intended to record whether each platform's transparency report breaks out fraud separately from generic “fake accounts”. Those reports are rendered as interactive dashboards rather than documents, and could not be read reliably enough to cite. Reporting a number we could not read at source would have been the opposite of the point, so the field was dropped rather than filled from secondary coverage.
This is a documentation audit, not an enforcement audit. It does not measure how fast anyone acts, how many scam accounts are removed, or whether any platform is safe. It measures one thing: what each company has committed to in writing about the person who took the trouble to report.
Free to cite
CC BY 4.0. Journalists and researchers are welcome to use this with credit. Every cell links to the platform page it came from, so nothing here has to be taken on trust. Corrections to press@tuteladigitalis.com; we publish them.
Archived on Zenodo with CSV, JSON and a written methodology, under the DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22210737. That is a concept DOI, so it always resolves to the newest version rather than pinning to one deposit. To cite this exact revision, version 1.0.0, use 10.5281/zenodo.22210738.
Suggested citation: Tutela Digitalis (2026). The Tutela Digitalis Platform Scam Report Index (Version 1.0.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22210737