Since its inception in 2010, Instagram has seen over 1 billion accounts created, with users sharing nearly 100 million images every day.

Instagram's success may be attributed to the fact that it is a social media network unlike any other, with a distinct visual twist. Unlike Twitter and Facebook, the website was designed exclusively for the exchange of photographs and videos.

Instagram has become an important part of many people's everyday lives, as they use it to connect and interact with friends and family. Many businesses and influencers use the platform to make money as well.

But Instagram isn't just happy videos and pictures of you flaunting your new wardrobe or bragging about where you're having dinner with a friend.

Unfortunately, the platform's success makes it a perfect location for cybercriminals to conduct large-scale scams.

The BBC reported in January 2021 that Instagram fraud reports had risen by 50 percent since the coronavirus outbreak began in 2020.

As our digital lives change and online scammers create new tactics, it is vital to understand how to spot an Instagram scam and what to do if you are targeted.

According to Instagram, the eight most popular scams to avoid.

Scams involving e-mail

Phishers attempt to gain access to your Instagram account by sending you a suspicious connection via Instagram direct message or email, where you are then fooled into entering your username and password on a fake login page.

When they have your login credentials, the crooks can access your personal information and even change your password to lock you out of your own account.

Fake Instagram "warnings", such as the ones shown below, have recently become common, claiming to be official copyright infringement warnings from Instagram itself.

Fake email with the subject "copyright notice" purporting to be from Instagram.

That's right. DM purportedly from an official Instagram site.

Sponsorship from fake influencers

Scammers are taking advantage of the increase of social media influencers to target the influencers themselves.

These con artists pose as a well-known brand and give influencers an advertisement contract. If the influencer is unlucky enough to assume that the offer they are getting is legitimate, they will give the brand their personal banking information in order to be "paid."

Other scammers propose the Instagram blue tick.

And such as previously making influencers pay for the tick and share banking details.

Before buying such sponsorship check the "sponsor" properly. And never pay anyone who promises you golden mines and tick in no time. There are strict criteria created by Instagram. Don't forget that is the only way to get the badge is through the official form.

And don't forget to check has your brand been featured in multiple news sources? If PR hasn't been a priority for your brand thus far, you might have a more difficult time proving how "notable" you are. Don't forget that a step for the coveted Instagram verification badge is being mentioned in multiple news sources.

Scams involving romance

Not all Instagram scams are easy and fast. Some adversaries can go to great lengths over time to deceive their victims.

Romance scams occur when fraudsters enter into a fake online relationship with their victims, frequently chatting with them for weeks, months, or even years in order to gain and then violate their confidence. If the target has been ensnared, the scammer begins demanding money for visas, flights, and other travel expenses.

But there's always a reason for why the scammer couldn't get the visa, board the train, or do whatever they said they'd do. (Sudden travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19 regulations seem to have been a common justification during the coronavirus pandemic.)

The scammer will continue to ask for money as long as the individual on the other end sends it.

Avoid sending money to someone you've never met in person, even (or maybe especially) if the reason for sending the money is ostensible to meet them in person for the first time.

If you wire money to a scammer, you would almost certainly never be able to recover it, even if you involve law enforcement or the courts – sending a wire transfer is the same as handing over cash.

Scam giveaways

Instagram influencers sometimes host sponsored giveaways and limited-time deals in which brands give away free goods or services to a few lucky winners.

These prizes are often lavish, with followers having the chance to win designer clothing, high-end laptops, AirPods, and other pieces.

Unfortunately, scammers may impersonate the trusted influencer and tell you that you have won the giveaway, but that in order to obtain the prize, you must pay a "shipping charge" or provide personal details that they will use for illegitimate purposes.

Loan swindles

Cybercriminals use these scams to give you a direct message offering you a loan with a low interest rate. All you have to do to get this incredible deal is pay a deposit.

Of course, once the funds are exchanged, the loan bid, the scammer, and your money all disappear.

Fraudulent investment schemes

These con artists persuade you to invest in a shady "get rich quick" or "cash flipping" scheme. Again, when you hand over your money, the scammer and your funds vanish.

Scammers often pose in luxury cars and designer clothing, pretending to be "self-made" and "rich" at a young age in order to persuade their victims to invest their money.

At first, you could receive emails or be given a website login with realistic-looking but entirely fictitious data claiming that your investments are performing well. As a result, some victims begin to spend more and more money, even persuading their own friends and family to join in – before the scammers vanish with it all.

Job swindles

Scammers use the promise of what appears to be an excellent job to trick you into sharing personal information, such as your home address, phone number, social security number, passport and immigration information, and scans of ID documents such as your driver's license.

The crooks aren't looking for your personal information to screen you for a job; they want it so they can commit identity fraud, which involves using your information to apply for loans, credit cards, and other services under your name.

Credit card theft

Credit card fraud frequently begins with an innocent-looking social media post offering "quick cash," such as a contest with a large prize.

When you click on the embedded connection, you will be prompted to enter your credit card details or online banking credentials.

If the scammers have obtained enough of your financial information, they can use your credit card information to make online transactions.

What should I do?

Here are our top four safety tips for Instagram:

- Choose appropriate passwords. Using a different password than you do on other websites. If you believe you might have given your password away on a bogus website, change it as soon as possible before the crooks do. If you don't already have one, think about getting one.

- Avoid oversharing. As much as it seems to be the norm these days to post a lot of your life on Instagram, you don't have to reveal anything about yourself. Before you upload your images, consider who or what is in the background.

- Maintain vigilance. If an account or message seems suspicious to you, do not communicate with it or react to it, and do not click on any links it sends you. If something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is.

- Think about making your account private. If you aren't trying to be an influencer that everyone can see, and if you use Instagram more as a messaging tool to stay in contact with your close friends than as a way to tell the world about yourself, you can consider making your account private. Your photos and videos will only be visible to your followers. Review your list of followers on a regular basis and unfollow everyone you don't recognize or don't want to follow you any longer.

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