Losing your hard earn cash to an online fraudster is pretty discouraging and this seems to be on the rise in recent times particularly with the advent of product sales on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Only if my colleague, Catherine, who was recently duped of a huge sum of money knew this, maybe I wouldn't have to write this. Before I share with you some vital things you must ensure before your next transaction, let me share with you - Catherine's story and how she Was Duped via Instagram.
How Catherine Was Duped via Instagram
Just like every trendy lady, Catherine got attracted by some clothes on display by an hoax instagram user Platonic Wear Boutique @platonic_wear_boutique, the price was quite cheap that Catherine immediately had a BBM chat with the seller, her response were quite convincing so two bank transfers were made to Idowu Eniola Joy GT Bank.
Minutes later the BBM pin was blocked, same with Whatsapp, calls to the supposed 'customer care' line (09055206680) didn't get picked and it's been incommunicado ever since.
What We Found Out.
Interestingly, others have been sorted by this same user, some of them just like Catherine was e-robbed of thousands of Naira and remember this is 20recession. One of the victims claimed she paid over 25,000 into this account details Ogunyemi Tomiwa 2079779298 UBA, which we discovered is handled by this same Platonic Wear Boutique handler on instagram. The fraudster also runs other hoax handle like Cute Treading Colletionz @cute_trending_colletionz (which is no longer available)
Now, these are some signs that an Instagram account could be fake, how do you spot one.
Aftermath of Being Duped
Several days after being duped even years, there will be loss of trust even with a recognized brand. According to Catherine, “Up till now, i hadn’t restocked my makeup products because am skeptical about trusting anyone again. I wanted to stock my box for the New Year celebration; imagine, I had to start (double) checking the detail of my regular makeover agent again. What duping can do!”
How to Spot Fake Instagram Account
1. Profile photo doesn't look really; often it shows a pretty girl or boy.
2. The account has unrealistic photo gallery with only few photos in it. Sometimes it's full of selfies, but somehow the person in the selfie doesn't match the person in the profile photo Or the gallery is full of beautiful photographs that look like they have been shot professionally, but if you read the bio, it says a completely different narrative (professional photographer normally says about their passion and their job in the bio).
3. You can also check when the photos in the gallery were posted, if they have been posted roughly at the same day, then it's one of the signs that they have been uploaded by a bot.
4. The numbers of followers far exceed the number of followings. (Scammer do buy followers these days oooo)
5. Check the first photo in the gallery to ascertain when it was posted, if it's just recently then it could mean that it's a new account. Combine with the numbers of followers it starts to be suspicious.
Way Forward
Are We saying sales of products online are bad? Hell no. It may be quite and extra caution is demanded especially with unpopular sellers.
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