Instagram scams: fake shops, giveaways and investment accounts

Scam shops copy product photos from real stores, offer big discounts, and ask you to pay by bank transfer, a payment app's friends-and-family option, or crypto, none of which you can easily dispute. Once you've paid, the item never ships, or the account disappears.

Pay by card or through a checkout with buyer protection, and be wary of any seller who only takes payment methods you can't reverse.

Copies of real creators and brands comment on posts or message people to say they won. Claiming the prize requires a "shipping fee", card details or a login on another site. "Brand ambassador" offers work the same way: you're asked to buy products upfront.

Accounts showing cars, cash and trading screenshots offer to grow your money, often moving the chat to WhatsApp or Telegram. Early returns look real because they're shown on the scammer's own platform. Withdrawals then need fees, and the money is gone.

• Search the exact username here. Impersonators add a dot, underscore or number to a real username.
• Open the profile's menu and tap "About this account" to see when it joined and which country it's based in. A "store" that joined last month is a warning sign.
• Look for real interaction: comments from varied accounts, tagged photos from customers, and a history longer than a few weeks.
• Never log in through a link sent in a DM, and never send anyone a code texted to your phone.

Report the account in the app, contact your bank or card issuer about the payment, and don't pay anyone who offers to get the money back for a fee. Then report it on Scam Search with screenshots of the profile and the chat.