Whether they steal people’s money through cryptocurrencies and NFTs or the old-fashioned way, scammers’ methods of unknowingly taking others’ money always start with gaining their trust, whether they are romance scammers, job scammers, lottery scammers, or a paid subscription fraud scammer.
Once you give them your trust, it’s game over.
Social media is no exception either. In fact, more than 95,000 people reported about $770 million in losses to fraud on social media platforms in 2021, per the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, Facebook and Instagram are at the top of the list of apps that have the most scam victims, per Investopedia and Social Catfish’s reports.
Social Catfish is an online dating investigation service based in California.
So, how do you avoid being a part of that statistic when you’re about to visit Instagram?
Learn the Signs and How to Spot Them
Thankfully, Instagram has posted a list of things to look out for to prevent being scammed. According to the app’s post on the topic, scams happen when people create fake accounts or hack into existing Instagram accounts you followed. These people would then use these accounts to try and trick you into giving them money or personal information.
As such, a sign that the person you’re talking to on Instagram is a scammer would be when they ask you for money when you don’t know them in person, or when they’re asking you to send them money or gift cards to receive a loan, prize or other…
