Facebook-owned social network Instagram is one of the most popular places to hang out online. Each of the major social media sites has its own identity, and Instagram\u2019s is all about the glossy, carefully curated image you present to the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, scammers tend to congregate where everyone else does, and there are plenty of Instagram scams hiding behind the site\u2019s camera-ready, envy-inducing facade. In fact, the FTC\u2019s figures<\/a> show a high percentage of all<\/em> online scams originating on Facebook and Instagram. Here are some of the most common scams you\u2019ll encounter and some advice on protecting yourself from them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Online shopping was a booming category even before the COVID crisis, and it\u2019s no surprise that it became even bigger as people stayed home. Many legitimate businesses and entrepreneurs took to Instagram to market their wares, and many an Instagram user has purchased products found on the platform. Unfortunately, many of those vendors are scammers and their \u201ccustomers\u201d seldom get their money back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Even a quick glance at the Better Business Bureau\u2019s (BBB) Scam Tracker<\/a> tool will tell you that this fraud is a thriving industry on Instagram (just type \u201cInstagram\u201d into the keyword search box). It can take several forms: a product that never ships after your payment clears, a product that doesn\u2019t match the description or photos you saw, or many, many other variations on the same theme. The one detail that\u2019s consistent is the part where you don\u2019t get your money back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Romance scams<\/a> are a plague on most online platforms, and Instagram is no exception. They follow the same pattern<\/a> here as they do everywhere else: You meet someone new, you hit it off immediately, you quickly find yourself getting attached. It\u2019s such a shame they\u2019re too far away to meet in person, at first \u2014 a few states away, or perhaps deployed overseas, or working on an oil rig somewhere inaccessible \u2014 but you feel like you know them better than the people who are actually in your daily life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Then money enters the picture. It might be a sudden medical emergency, or a few dollars to fix a broken-down car, or \u201cI\u2019m in Kazakhstan and my phone isn\u2019t charging properly and I can\u2019t access my banking app,\u201d or…something. The first few times it may even be cast as a loan which is duly paid back. It doesn\u2019t always work that way, but it\u2019s an effective trust-building tool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That level of trust is what makes romance scams so dangerous and costly. A fraudulent merchant may only take you for $40 or $50, but romance scammers will often pillage their victims to the tune of tens, or even hundreds, of thousands. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bloggers influenced their readers\u2019 purchasing decisions before Instagram was ever thought of, but it was Instagram that turned the influencer role into a legitimate career option. Of course, for every successful influencer raking in serious cash there are plenty of \u201cwannabes\u201d trying to get into that position, and a corresponding number of scammers looking to take advantage of their ambition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These scams can go in several different directions, but a couple of common ones stand out. The first is a variation on shopping scams, in which the Instagrammer is induced to make an initial purchase and promote specific products. The scammer\u2019s supposed to in turn provide rebates, additional (free) products or some form of cash commission, none of which materialize. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another scam offers, for a fee, to help would-be influencers gain \u201cverified\u201d status<\/a> on Instagram (a key hurdle in arriving at the big-bucks promised land). Payment is often requested in gift card or cryptocurrency form, which can\u2019t be canceled, challenged or reversed like more conventional payment options. This is always a scam because verified status can only be earned and never bought. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers know there\u2019s always a market for a plausible-sounding \u201cget rich quick\u201d scheme, and the pandemic created a large pool of people who are stressed enough financially to take risks they otherwise might not. That\u2019s made investment scams of various types an even bigger threat than they normally are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several variations on the theme, but one of the most common scams in this category promises to multiply your money rapidly, often within hours, by flipping it<\/a> in and out of various trading vehicles. Victims are shown screenshots or reports of their \u201cgains\u201d and encouraged to invest more, then hit again for a \u201cprocessing fee\u201d in order to cash out. Needless to say, none of the money ever comes back and the scammer promptly disappears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scammers will sometimes pitch themselves as consultants or mentors who will help you make a fortune by trading in cryptocurrencies. Relatively few people understand vehicles like Bitcoin and Ethereum, which creates a lot of latitude for scammers to operate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweepstakes and lottery scams, like romance scams, are found across most social media platforms and Instagram is no exception. Like investment scams, these play on the universal human appeal of \u201csomething for nothing.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ll receive a message telling you that you\u2019ve won something of value in a contest, a sweepstakes, a lottery or something of that nature. The prize could be anything of value, from a holiday cruise to a new pair of shoes or the most recent, \u201ccan\u2019t buy it anywhere\u201d gaming console. It\u2019s yours for free, you just have to pay a specific fee…and that, of course, is the whole point of the scam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It might be described as paying taxes on the value of the product, or shipping and handling, or port\/resort fees for cruises and weekend getaways, but the bottom line is you sending money to the scammer. The product is either wholly imaginary or a mass produced piece of gimcrack that costs them pennies on the dollar. Either way, you lose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Phishing is also common across lots of platforms, but there are a couple of variations that seem to show up more on Instagram than other sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One is the \u201cthree of your pictures<\/a>\u201d scam. You\u2019ll receive a direct message from another user, often someone you know, saying that they\u2019ve practiced their photo editing skills to improve three of your own Instagram photos. The message includes a link to the supposed photos, which leads to a fake Instagram login page. If you log in, you\u2019ve just given your credentials to the scammers…who then hit your friends with the same scam, except now the message seems to come from you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another is the \u201cnasty list<\/a>\u201d scam, in which the DM you receive warns you that you\u2019re on someone\u2019s \u201cnasty list\u201d page of leaked photos or videos. Again, the whole point is getting you to click a link and sign into a bogus Instagram account. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This shortlist barely scratches the surface compared to the number of scams out there, but there are lots of ways to protect yourself. The first is simply staying educated: Start with Instagram\u2019s own guidance<\/a> and the FTC\u2019s Consumer Information Blog<\/a>, or spend some time clicking through the BBB\u2019s Scam Tracker (it\u2019s updated as complaints come in, so it\u2019s a useful real-time window to scams that are going on right now). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, take a few moments to read up on how to recognize these scams and others. Internet security companies\u2019 sites<\/a> are a useful resource for that, as is this humble blog. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Arguably the most valuable security tool you can bring to Instagram (or any other social site) is an attitude of healthy skepticism. Aphorisms like, \u201cIf it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,\u201d and, \u201cThere\u2019s no such thing as a free lunch,\u201d are universal because they\u2019re true. You\u2019ll also be safer if you keep your account private<\/a> and don\u2019t allow random strangers to follow you<\/a> just because they ask. Often those accounts are fabricated by scammers as a reconnaissance tool, so they can personalize their attempts on you and your friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re two decades into the new century and the new millennium, and the simple fact is that much of modern life takes place online. That calls for a fine balancing act: If you\u2019re too trusting it makes you an easy target, and if you\u2019re too paranoid you\u2019ll find life becomes terribly complicated and constrained. The best approach is to think of trust as something you can proactively build, using the tools available. To put that another way, \u201cTrust, but verify first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of clicking that link, call or email your friend to verify that they\u2019ve actually sent it. Better yet, always log in separately to Instagram and then go looking for the page that supposedly holds your photos. When companies offer to reimburse you for touting their product on your \u2018Gram, search that company\u2019s name along with \u201ccomplaints\u201d or \u201cscam.\u201d If it\u2019s a legitimate company, contact them directly to verify that the offer is aboveboard (spoiler: Scammers have<\/em> been known to misrepresent themselves…). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If that new acquaintance seems bent on being your BFF (or more) in a hurry, use Google\u2019s reverse image search<\/a> to see if his\/her photos were scraped from somewhere else on the internet. Finally \u2014 and most importantly \u2014 use Spokeo\u2019s people search tools<\/a> consistently to verify that the people you think<\/em> you\u2019re interacting with are actually who, and where, and what, they say they are. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Life is proverbially uncertain, but these simple steps can help you gain (and maintain) a measure of control over your online life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Facebook-owned social network Instagram is one of the most popular places to hang out online. Each of the major social media sites has its own identity, and Instagram\u2019s is all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":25217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[614],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safety"],"yoast_head":"\nOnline Shopping Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Instagram Romance Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Influencer Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u201cInvestment\u201d Scams and Cryptocurrency Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lottery and Prize Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Instagram Phishing Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Protecting Yourself From Instagram Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Verify, Verify, Verify<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Fall Victim to Instagram Scams<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
References:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n