Instagram users are reporting being targeted by scammers who use fake copyright claims to demand ransoms, leading to account suspensions and financial losses. Victims have stated that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, struggles to identify these fraudulent activities, leaving users with few recourse options.
One user, identified only as Olly, recounted paying $50 in cryptocurrency to an extortionist to reclaim his account after it was temporarily taken down due to a fake copyright strike. Despite paying, Olly faced immediate new copyright claims, a frustrating experience that also led to his account being demonetized, preventing him from earning income from his posts.
"There's no investigation into abuse, or system detection [from Meta] that it could be abuse," Olly stated, highlighting a perceived lack of proactive measures by the platform to address such scams.
Another user, Abin Tom Sebastian, who manages the Morbid Kuriosity account, described a similar ordeal. Sebastian reported losing crucial brand contracts as a result of these fake claims and expressed dissatisfaction with Meta's support, noting that the company makes users pay for direct support, even while claiming to support creators.
Instagram's policy states that only external copyright holders or their authorized representatives can report infringement. The platform advises affected users to contact the rights holders directly. However, victims of these scams argue that the perpetrators are not genuine rights holders and that Meta's systems are failing to differentiate between legitimate claims and fraudulent ones.
Following inquiries from the BBC regarding these user experiences, Meta announced that it had implemented additional account protections. The company stated these measures are intended to prevent similar issues from recurring and reaffirmed its commitment to combating deceptive practices aimed at defrauding individuals and businesses.