A few months ago, one of my friends got locked out of her Instagram account. She posted from her backup account saying she needed help. Not even ten minutes later, someone messaged her claiming to be an “Instagram Recovery Specialist.” They said they were “officially partnered with Instagram Support” and could get her account back in under an hour. All she had to do was pay a small “verification fee.”

It sounded real at first because the person had a professional looking profile, screenshots of “happy customers,” and even a fake badge that looked like something Instagram might use. But the whole thing was a scam. Their goal was to get people to pay them money and also give away their personal information. They asked for phone numbers, email logins, and even security codes, which could be used to steal more accounts.

The scam worked by rushing people when they were stressed. When someone thinks their account is gone, they panic, and scammers take advantage of that. They copy the style of real support pages and use fake reviews to seem trustworthy.

How I Could Tell It Was Fake

  1. Instagram never messages users through random personal accounts.

  2. The page had tons of “clients,” but the pictures looked stolen.

  3. The person asked for payment through Cash App and “friends and family” transfers, which is a huge red flag.

  4. The grammar in the messages was messy, even though they claimed to be “official staff.”

  5. Real support never asks for login codes in DMs.

Why This Matters

Account recovery scams are getting way more common, especially for Instagram. Scammers know people care about their accounts, so they use the stress and urgency to trick people. It taught me that slowing down and checking if something is legit can save you from losing money or an account.

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