Crypto Scam: Fake Instagram Accounts Used to Steal $80M from Victims—How to Protect Yourself

Crypto scammers are now using fake and imposter Instagram accounts to lure in their victims to shell out their money in hopes to earn from the digital asset.

Crypto investment scams have become ubiquitous on social media platforms like Instagram. In fact, scammers have stolen a whopping $80 million from their victims, as per the news story by CNBC.

It is worth noting that the figures were only based on those who have reported the crypto scheme. Not to mention that the data from the Federal Trade Commission only spans from Oct. 2020 to March 2021.

Crypto Scam and Fake Instagram Accounts

The crypto-investment scams have been using photos and names from real Instagram users to increase the trustworthiness of their offers.

One of the victims of the crypto scam on Instagram spoke with CNBC after a user whose identity is being used for the scheme connected them.

The victim refused to share his identity on the news story as he feared any retaliation from the crypto scammer.

The Instagram users who fell for the crypto investment scheme disclosed that the fake account asked him to invest his money to, yet again, a bogus trading platform.

The victim shared that the scammer further showed skyrocketing returns from the investment that it even reached up to a cool six-figure profit.

To be precise, the fake Insta claimed that his $500 could turn into a six-digit investment.

However, when he was attempting to withdraw his investment, the scammer then asked him to pay additional charges and commissions fees.

As such, he went on to pay around $20,000 for the bogus fees and ended up failing to withdraw his initial investment.

Imposter Instagram Accounts

Meanwhile, one of the Instagram users that endlessly caught scammers stealing her identity, Brandy Morgan, shared that the social media giant even mistakenly took down her account.

Morgan, an internet influencer, narrated that she was previously surprised that she was locked down from her account.

After which, Instagram showed a message, saying that she violated the terms of service of the platform.

The influencer revealed that she had over 50 imposters from the social media platform owned by Meta.

She added that some of her imposters are even clever enough to use a different name, which makes it harder for Morgan to look for them.

However, the influencer noted that some only use a variation of her original name. Thus, it is easier to track and report them.

Crypto Scams: How to Protect Yourself

According to the report by Forbes, one of the ways to avoid falling from crypto scams is to check the legitimacy of the crypto broker.

As mentioned earlier, the scammer used a bogus trading platform to push for the investment scheme.

The news outlet further said that it would be best to reach out to the crypto exchange via chat, email, or phone call to verify the legitimacy of the investment scheme. From there, the platform could deny any bogus fees.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Teejay Boris