We are all different in a variety of ways; however, a likely similarity is that we all downloaded Instagram-wrapped this past week. The Instagram-wrapped scam is one that happened recently and widely. The app has a similar concept to Spotify Wrapped which allows people to view their music listening statistics. Similarly, Instagram wrapped allowed people to find out who had blocked or “stalked” them on the app. These were determined to even be incorrect and inconsistent analytics. In the aftermath, many people were logged out of their own Instagram app, this is likely because the Instagram-wrapped app requested people to input their password and username–something that should have hinted that this could end up in a scam. People were recently asked to change their password to prevent further chaos on their Instagram page.
I have had my days of scamming; in the past, I have been scammed and almost scammed three whole times. These are experiences that bug me to this day, being scammed at a foreign restaurant is especially humiliating. Scamming is a practice that many find obvious to unravel. There are straightforward indicators, primarily when your information is requested by an unknown source. However, even though these may seem avoidable, many people still fall victim to these scams. Out of the people I asked, only one person said that they had never had an experience with a scammer.
Chloe Carlsten
Chloe Carlsten, who unfortunately downloaded the Instagram-wrapped app, underwent an entirely separate scandal. She recounts her grandmother ordering her a birthday present, “these super cool pink Airforce shoes” as quoted by Chloe. But the shoes that arrived were nothing like how they looked on Bamoas.com–the website she sent to her grandmother to order off of. Chloe says “not to order from that website ever, you are bound to get scammed.” Thanks for the advice, Chloe. When it comes to merchandise or commercialism, people are likely to get pulled in and make that purchase even though there are serious hints of a scam.
Harrison Crites
Harrison Crites did not download Instagram-wrapped but he did fall for a buy one get one free deal on YouTube, or what he calls a “Buy one get none at all free kind of deal.” Eight-year-old Harrison discovered a way to get access to not just $50 worth of Clash of Clan gems, but double the amount of gems for only $50. Unfortunately, his attempt to upgrade his town hall building in Clash of Clans failed miserably and the fifty dollars he spent did not trigger an influx of gems into his Clash of Clans account. I do wonder where that money went now that it is not in his dad’s bank account, yes, the fifty-dollar charge did not come out of his eight-year-old piggy bank. The only gem Harrison got from his dad was yard work for a month straight to make it up to him.
Wilson Swenson
Wilson Swenson’s first experience of a scam was when he was young. He watched as his Dad almost got scammed by a telemarketer and remembers the moment to this day. On this call, his dad was requested to pay a large sum to someone claiming to be an electrician, while he was on vacation. The call was long and one that almost ended in him paying the total costs, however, the request for the money to be in gift card format gave the scammer away. Gift cards are an obvious scamming tactic that ensures that the money cannot be traced back to the scammer.
Wilson has his own experience with a scammer years later, however, he did not fall for the trick. This scammer tried another method, sliding into Wilson Swenson’s DM’s. He was offered 14.6 million dollars, imagine how much you could buy with that hefty fund. He was also offered a generous percentage of commission, 50%. Wilson however saw through that stack of money and noticed the beckoning signs of a scammer in action.
Anna Hollister
Anna Hollister did NOT fall for Instagram wrapped but she has gotten into trouble with the Instagram app itself. She remembers not clicking any possible links in her direct messenger, nonetheless, still getting logged out of her account and things being posted on her story. If I do remember, her scammer created a public story on her account including a Bitcoin tag. A bit of advice Anna shared with us was: “Don’t stay logged out of your Instagram for too long because next time you try to log in you will discover someone posted on your story about Bitcoin.” Due to her bad luck, Anna deleted her Instagram account completely for a good six months. Recently, she has re-created her profile and is more cautious than ever.
Addie Utsey
A fellow downloader of the Instagram-wrapped app had a similar situation with the Fabletics company. Since downloading Instagram she recounts being logged out of her account. Once signed back in she has “received lots of weird follow requests from accounts that she has not one mutual with.” Vulnerability online is truly a serious and scary situation. Advice to the rest of the folk who downloaded the app, do not enter your information on an unrelated Instagram app, and change your passcodes as soon as possible. Addie Utsey also mentions an issue she and her mother ran into with Fabletics. She explained that “basically she bought a pair of leggings from Fabletics three years ago and the purchase signed her up for a subscription without telling her and charged her card $50 a month for over a year.” To the company, Addie says “ I hate Fabletics and I hope that their company fails because I could have bought good leggings with the money that they took from me.” Getting scammed truly is a sad event.
Hopefully, you have recognized some common attempts of scammers and now know that it can happen anywhere at any time. On Instagram, email, and even YouTube. Falling for these tricks can be demeaning, but just know, it happens to everyone.
