No matter how many (or how few) followers you’ve got on Instagram, chances are you’ll have received a direct message (DM) from an unknown account that goes something like this: ‘Hey! I’m on the promoter team at [insert brand name] and we’d love you to become a brand ambassador! Please DM the brand to find out more.’
Often, these messages come from an account with very few followers and no profile picture, and they’ll sometimes follow up urging you to ‘Hurry, because there are only a few spaces left!’ Other times, they comment ‘DM to collab’ underneath a photo instead of messaging.
On the surface, it’s flattering to think that a marketing professional has spied your profile and decided that you’re a perfect fit for a clothing or accessories company.
Could this, you might wonder, be the beginning of a lucrative career as a social media influencer? The truth is… probably not.
“Brand collaboration has become a popular attention-grabbing technique between genuine social media influencers and popular brands,” says Mike Andrews, national co-ordinator for the National Trading Standards eCrime Team. “But sadly, like many other legitimate marketing techniques, it’s been hijacked by rogue traders and criminals looking to make easy money. Criminals misuse the technique to trap, scam or mislead businesses and consumers.”
Sharon Davies, CEO of Young Enterprise, says cyber criminals have…
