Beware of a new Instagram scam called ‘The Hotlist’ that can be used to steal your Instagram username and password, then have your account used to lure in other unsuspecting users! Here’s how it works:
Step 1: You’ll get an IG message regarding your ‘hot’ photos on Instagram. The message reads something like, “I just saw a few of your photos on the @The_HotList_95 and they are already upvoted to #26!”.
Step 2: If you visit the sender’s account, they typically have a post that says something like ‘Everyone Is On Here Look’ along with a description and a link that says ‘Check what position you’re in!’
Step 3: Don’t click the link in step 2! If you do, you’ll be directed to a fake Instagram login page hijacked by scammers to steal your login credentials.
Q: Why are they doing this?
A: The scammers are trying to steal your Instagram username/password to be sold on the Dark Web and also so that they can use your account to repeat the scam on other IG users!
The Take Away
You can avoid falling victim to this Instagram phishing scams (and others to come) by following these 3 tips:
Where’s the mobile browser url? Right here.
Don’t ever enter login credentials if they are on a page that does not belong to the Instagram website. Sounds obvious I know but most people don’t look at the website url at the top of the browser. It’s this right here (see picture on the right).
Verify the profile of the sender or source BEFORE you share ANY personal information.
Just ignore any messages from unknown sources asking your to share any personal information whatsoever. It’s most likely a scammer!
Stay safe out there.
-A