Instagram scams are a big problem these days. Many people fall victim to this form of scam every day. You will learn how this scam works in this article.
Many people use social media sites like Instagram to present photos and images to the public. What sounds so harmless can sometimes be dangerous. Not a single Instagram user thinks of these dangers at the moment they open their account.
In fact, more and more scammers are using the Instagram platform to perfidiously scam other people. For this purpose, they open fake accounts on Instagram or Facebook and go hunting for victims.
How does the scam work on Instagram?
Instagram is not just about sharing photos with the public. In fact, it is also possible to write about the platform. That’s why users keep receiving messages on their Instagram account from unknown people.
In some cases these are normal requests from other users. But it is not uncommon for scammers to write to unsuspecting users in order to lure them into a trap with sweet words.
The trick as a soldier on Instagram
Very popular is the scam as an alleged US soldier (more about the US soldier romance scam) who is stationed in the distance, for example in countries like:
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Syria
- Yemen
- Sudan
- Nigeria
- Turkey
- or anywhere else in the world.
In the profile of the perpetrator’s account you can find meaningful photos of a real existing American soldier. However, these photos in the account are stolen and used by someone else. There are countless fake accounts on Instagram or Facebook.
This alleged soldier now randomly writes to potential victims to talk to them. What the victim doesn’t know is that the man at the other end of the chat is neither a soldier nor the person pictured in the stolen photos.
The two people write to each other for some time on Instagram’s Messenger until the soldier asks them to switch to Google Hangouts or email communication. The reason is simple: he is afraid that the wrong profile will be recognized and therefore blocked from the platform.
The two parties now write for some time and the sympathetic soldier becomes more and more a fixed part of the victim’s everyday life. It doesn’t take long and the American falls in love with the woman with whom he writes. He philosophises about the common future, the common house and the great love. With this he runs all open doors into lonely women.
After some time there comes the point at which he finally wants to visit the woman and embrace her. However, there are small hurdles to overcome.
Reasons for money demands can be:
He needs a new mobile phone in order to continue writing with the lady of his heart. Unfortunately, he can’t buy that in a foreign country. So the woman should buy it in Germany. Of course, only the latest iPhone model comes into question, nothing else.
He asks to send the mobile phone to another country. From there, a Red Cross employee brings it to the soldier as a kind of courier, because only the Red Cross employees are not controlled. If the woman sends the mobile phone, she will never see it again. The address is that of a middleman who is part of the criminal syndicate.
Unfortunately, he can no longer write with her because he no longer has credit. That’s why the woman should buy iTunes cards and send him the numbers. If she does that, the money is gone, because these numbers can be turned into money immediately.
The food is so bad that he soon starves and falls ill. That is why she should send him cash to Africa via Western Union so that he could buy something to eat.
The holiday trap
He wants a holiday to come to her, but first he has to apply for a holiday. Only his future wife could apply. If she does, there will soon be a bill that is supposed to be from the military. Only if she pays it, is he allowed to come to her. Depending on how much she pays, his length of stay varies.
Because he wants to send all his belongings to the woman of his heart in advance, he asks her for her address. He then supposedly sends a box with documents, money and gold. Unfortunately this box gets stuck in customs. In order for it to be released, it is necessary for the lady to pay the customs duties. If she does, the next thing she needs is an anti-terror certificate or a claim because there are forbidden things in the box. Either way, the woman has to pay over and over again.
These and many other stories are nothing more than part of a large-scale fraud that only aims to collect money.
The scam as a doctor on crisis missions
He is an orthopaedist or surgeon and works on behalf of the UN in a crisis region. Otherwise, the scam runs exactly as described above for the US soldier.
The trick as an engineer on an oil platform
He’s stationed on a lonely oil rig looking for a woman. As a widower with a child who is in boarding school, he finally wants to fall in love again. His job doesn’t allow him to make video calls and he desperately needs financial help. The rest is like the fake soldier’s trick.
The scam as a trader who has to travel to Africa
He is an antique dealer, car dealer, constructor or whatever and has to go to Africa professionally. Bad things happen there. From robbery to the theft of a credit card, from trouble with customs to serious illnesses for which high hospital bills have to be paid. The woman has to take responsibility for all this.
These and many other examples show how deceitfully the fraudsters deal with the new Instagram acquaintance in order to deprive it of its money.
But dangers also lurk in real life
He chats with the Instagram acquaintance and is quite excited about what she posts and gives of herself, even if it is rather of moderate quality. His identity is faked. With the freely invented data he chats with the woman. His goal: He wants to get her into bed. When it comes to a meeting in real life, he first tries to do something good. If he doesn’t get a chance, he holds it freely to Goethe: “And if you’re not willing, then I will use force”.
Be careful on Instagram
Hence our advice: If you write with someone on Instagram (or Facebook), it does not mean that the person is who he claims to be. He can write so many beautiful things; whether all this is true is another matter. So maybe he is just a fake.
So be careful when you want to meet someone like that: It could also be a criminal. What you should never do, however, in any case:
- Don’t share personal information with unknown users such as home address, phone number, ssn, or passport copy.
- Never pay money, for whatever reason, to an unknown person you have met through Instagram.
The money is gone and you will never see it from the romance scammers again.
Be careful at all, because cybercriminals send a suspicious link on your Instagram direct to hack your computer and spy on your personal information or steal your money.
By the way, there are various Instagram scams, such as the investment scams or donation scams or celebrity scams. Always be careful on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook & Co. Scammers with fake accounts are lurking everywhere on the Internet for their victims. They create new accounts on Instagram or Facebook every day that are wrong from front to back.
Have you met someone at Instagram and are in doubt?
If you’ve met someone on the Internet through a platform like Instagram and now you don’t know if they’re real, talk to us about our services. A private detective from our team will advise you without obligation.
Among the private detective agencies, we are probably the agency that most often dealt with cases of this kind. That’s why we know the tricks and scams of the fraudsters. In case of doubt, we check the man for you so that you can play it safe.
Just send us a message online with some details and we’ll get back to you.
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