Scams Spike on Instagram, Other Social Media Sites Amid COVID-19

Instagram scams range from phony romances to fake jobs

Instagram, based in San Francisco and owned by Facebook, urges users to avoid a variety of scams, starting with romance scams, on its site. Next it lists lottery scams (you've won big but must pay a fee); loan scams (an instant note for a small fee paid advance); false investment scams (convert $100 into $1,000); and job scams (misleading or fake posts to steal money or personal data), among others.

Instagram spokeswoman Raki Wane says it takes down accounts that are deemed malicious or break its rules but did not divulge the percentage of accounts held by suspected fraudsters. “We regularly monitor for trends and are always improving our systems to provide a better experience for our community,” she tells AARP. “We've removed large numbers of impersonating accounts on a consistent basis through a combination of technology, reporting tools and human review."

Impersonation predates the internet and runs the gamut: Scammers pretend to be celebrities, influencers, politicians and business executives, she adds.

Some Instagram fraudsters use fake names, and others operate in broad daylight, as recent cases reflect:

• A California actor who played parts in the movies Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3 and Thor is awaiting trial for allegedly peddling a fake cure for COVID-19 and deceiving potential investors. Keith L. Middlebrook, calling himself a “Genius Entrepreneur Icon,” posted videos on Instagram claiming he had an injection to cure coronavirus infections and a pill to prevent them. His posts received more than a million views after only a few days.
• In October, several people were charged in New Jersey for a scheme involving counterfeit economic-stimulus checks purportedly issued by the federal government. The defendants touted the chance for “quick cash” on Instagram and Snapchat.
• In July, a California woman who faked a diagnosis of Hodgkin's lymphoma was charged for collecting tens of thousands of dollars in donations for cancer treatment she never needed or received. Amanda C. Riley had chronicled her supposed illness in a blog and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Finally, there's “Victim One” in upstate New York, the target of a romance fraudster she met on Instagram. She lost more than $250,000 to the man and his associates. The man lied to her, saying he needed money for equipment while he was repairing an oil rig off China. Most of it was money sent by wire transfer; she also gave away iTunes gift cards and electronics.

That case triggered a prosecutor's ominous forecast. “In our increasingly screen-addicted world, I see these sorts of scams proliferating in the future,” U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy Jr. of the Western District of New York said last year in announcing that a Georgia woman had been charged in the scheme.

Calls to AARP Helpline

Complaints about Instagram scams during the pandemic also have risen at AARP's toll-free helpline, 877-908-3360. Among recent calls:

• A New Jersey woman got an Instagram message claiming she'd won an iPhone. Fraudsters took her money, supposedly to activate the smartphone, and hijacked her Gmail account.
• A California man met someone on Instagram claiming to have won $80 million and purporting to want to share some of the money. The victim paid a cash fee but didn't get a dime in return.
• A Pennsylvania woman sent Western Union transfers to buy a car she spotted on Instagram. The new wheels never arrived. To add insult to injury, the fraudster said she could get some of her money back — as long as she helped scam somebody else.

AARP's Amy Nofziger, who oversees the helpline, compares scrolling on Instagram to flipping through a magazine. “You can see beautiful artwork, pretty nature. If you like sewing, you can follow people who like to sew as well,” she says. “It's just an inspiring app.” And, by the way, you can find AARP on Instagram.

The danger, Nofziger says, is when an Instagrammer turns to the site, forms a digital connection with a fraudster and, amid a false sense of community, lets his or her guard down. A shared interest in, say, travel could spark an “instant connection,” she says. But don't act fast. Don't let another Instragrammer become an instant scammer.