Instagram has said it is “proactively fighting” against investment scams after the UK fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre, Action Fraud, admitted there has been an increased number of schemes being advertised on the social media platform.
Between October 2018 and February 2019, 356 reports of this fraud were made to Action Fraud, with a total loss of just over £3.1m ($4.09m, €3.6m) – an average of £8,900 per person.
The fraud centre said that young people aged between 20 and 30 are the most likely to fall victim.
A spokesperson for Instagram told International Adviser: “Fake and fraudulent activity is not allowed on Instagram.
“We proactively fight against this type of content and are always improving our systems to quickly detect and remove anything that violates our community guidelines.”
Details of the scams
Fraudsters are advertising “get rich quick” investment schemes on the app, which promise a high return within 24 hours, according to Action Fraud.
It said a £600 investment is initially requested which fraudsters claim will be multiplied within 24 hours.
Victims are then making payments via bank transfer to the fraudster’s bank account. Fraudsters are then sending screenshots of thousands in profit crediting their accounts, which they claim can be released for a fee.
Victims have requested to withdraw their funds while they’re still in profit, and at this stage the fraudsters are stopping contact with the victim and closing the Instagram account.
Inspector Paul Carroll, of Action Fraud, said: “Opportunistic fraudsters are taking advantage of unsuspecting victims who are going about their day-to-day lives on social media.
“It’s vital that you follow the simple steps below to make sure you don’t fall victim to this fraud.
“If you think you have been a victim, contact Action Fraud.”
Social media has a problem
Instagram is not the only social media platform which has had issues surrounding investment scams.
In January, Facebook agreed to donate £3m to advice charity Citizens Advice to help deliver a UK investment scams prevention service.
This came after the tech company reached an out-of-court settlement with MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis over his defamation lawsuit against scam investment adverts on Facebook’s website.
Facebook also will also launch a scam ad reporting tool on its site, unique to the UK, and a dedicated team to handle these complaints in the next few months.
