Cash Scam Hits Instagram

An investment scam has hit Instagram and is believed to be targeting users in their 20s. The “get
rich easy” scheme has seen itself in the social media app promising high returns for their victims
within 24 hours after an initial cash investment. After the fees have been paid, however, the
fraudsters disappear and could no longer be contacted anymore.
Over the past five months, there have been a total of 356 complaints. Initially, they may have
already collected more than £3M, but it is believed that there are some who have not come
forward yet. The amount could be possibly more than that.
They are induced into transferring £600 in exchange for high profits, but they seem to have
already lost an average of £8,900. These fraudsters trick these users into investing more in order
to yield “greater” profits. The fraudsters would also ask for a fee to release the money. After they
get enough money, these fraudsters would shut the account down, and leave no trace.
A Prevalent Scam
These fraudsters use professional-looking images in order to establish their credibility among
users they call “fickle.” ZeroFox, a company known to specialize in social media security, found
that there are over two million public posts in Instagram which offer quick cash to these users,
known as money-flipping. The millions of posts attesting the “legitimacy” of these schemes.
These scammers have found their ways in Instagram by using common hashtags such as
#instantcash, and how the hashtag connects itself with other financial-related hashtags such as
#financialhelp #moneyinminutes and #loans, to name a few.
A former scammer who refuses to divulge his identity says that they feed off users knowing that
there are people who need money and want it the easy way. Usually, these are the people in their
20s, tired of their jobs or looking an easy way out.
Actions Taken
The authorities are now on the hunt against these fraudsters.
Further, they are also asking the public to be wary of the information that they post online, and
what they share to strangers. Obviously, they should not even be sharing their bank account
information to other people.
They are working with Instagram to putting a stop on all of these money laundering accounts.
The authorities are warning everyone that there is no free money, and when you suspect that a
money scheme such as those are too good to be true, then they indeed are too good to be true and
would not even yield the returns they promise.