Cyber Awareness
Instagram Creators Report Losing Money to Scammers Exploiting Fake Copyright Claims
Instagram content creators say they have lost thousands of dollars after scammers filed false copyright claims to get their accounts suspended or removed. According to the creators, the scammers then demand payment in exchange for withdrawing the fraudulent claims, taking advantage of the fact that repeated complaints can lead to permanent account bans. Speaking to the BBC, affected creators said Meta, Instagram's parent company, often fails to identify these fake claims and that its appeal process is slow for users who do not pay a monthly subscription fee. In one instance, a user reportedly paid $50 to have his account restored.