Instagram Scam Alert: UAE Expert Exposes Influencers’ $136,000 Fraud Scheme

Fake contests, fake competitions... All means are good to defraud Moroccan and other country internet users. Souhail, a computer expert and content creator on YouTube based in the United Arab Emirates, has exposed the method used by influencers to defraud their thousands of followers during contests, commonly called "give away", reports Assabah.

He talks about audio recordings and written messages from a dozen people. They were victims of an online scam and are complaining about an active influencer on Instagram. The modus operandi of the alleged scammer is to make internet users believe that they can increase the number of their followers on social networks, through a "give away", in exchange for millions. Once the money is received, the influencer cuts off all contact with his victims.

There are more than 52 of these people who have been victims of fraud during the latest fake contests organized, the same source specifies. Those who expressed a desire to increase the number of their followers had to pay the organizer an amount ranging from 1,200 to 3,000 DH. Once the money was collected, he asked the people concerned to share with their followers a contest that allows them to win prizes, including smartphones and money. A sine qua non condition. The organizer gets away with a large sum of money.

The winners of the fake contests are also among the victims. Influencers earn more than 500,000 dirhams in a few days without handing over the promised prizes to the winners.