A scammer using a computer in a dark room
New Instagram phishing scam uses blackmail to extort users
Scammers have devised many ways to rob people of their hard-earned money, and a new one has just showed up on Instagram.
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A user on 21 October reported getting a “weird” message with a subtle threat alleging that he had committed an act to which he needed to confess.
The message was aimed at getting the receiver to confess to an act — which the scammer probably didn’t actually know about — in order to open the door to extortion, which other Instagram users confirmed.
Most likely a scam
The user shared the experience in order to confirm if it was an isolated case and if it was fake. He said one of his friends had received a similar message, which has made him concerned.
However, some Redditors said it was a pure scam because a true blackmailer would have all the details and present them upfront rather than doing guess work.
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Others confirmed receiving similar texts under various circumstances and suggested that they shouldn’t be taken seriously.
“I’ve gotten a lot of weird scam texts like this that were phrased as vague threatening/emergency situations to grab attention. angry parent trying to contact teacher, neighbor about to call the police, concerned pet owner trying to reach vet, etc.”
Apparently, the scammers used to make phone calls but have changed their strategy to text messages such as this, most likely from overseas.
“Same. They stopped the calls and started with the texts. One called a few weeks ago and told me I was “wasting their time” 😂 I was in fact, wasting their time since they decided to waste mine. I will 100% match energy”
What to do
As a solution, recipients of such messages are advised to block and delete the messages and treat them as the scams that they are.
Some users also recommend setting the Instagram account so that only friends can message them to limit access by strangers who try to scam users like this.
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