Scam alert: Instagram ‘copyright violation’ message

Leonard – I think the real problem is the ease with which criminals seem to be able to open multiple bank accounts to use as channels for money diverted by fraudulent activity.

Many large purchases, such as houses, cars, holidays, etc, depend on the transfer of large or very large sums into an account which then has to be transferred out to complete the purchase or settle with other parties.

Which? does not, or cannot, reveal what happens next in the Instagram scam other than saying it is a phishing scam – presumably its purpose is to get certain details from the target that will enable access to their bank account(s). There are two defences against that that customers can take: first, do not keep excessive balances in a current account, and second keep savings and investment funds in accounts at different banks or savings institutions.

I am always wary of any e-mail or telephone message that says something bad will happen within twenty-four hours. What if you are away and do not see the e-mail? What if you had not answered the phone but the clock was still ticking [allegedly]? Setting up false deadlines is a technique to panic people into acting impulsively or out of character.

There are plenty of clues in the example shown in the Intro that would cast doubt in the reader’s mind about its authenticity but the scammer’s art is to suspend the person’s disbelief and frighten them into clicking on a link and following the instructions. Many people might be genuinely worried about losing their Instagram account so they fall for the scam – although Which? have not said whether that has actually happened. The ‘few people’ they ‘heard from who thought the message was genuine’ told Which? about it so presumably they did not act upon it.

Francis – The problem is that these payments have been authorised by the payer quoting an account number and sort code number. The weakness in the system is that currently it does not require verification of the exact name of the account holder; that is coming, one day, but there seem to be a number of hitches, partly because payers do not always know the true name in which the payee’s account is registered [many organisations have numerous accounts]. Unfortunately it appears that fraudsters can also open accounts in a plausible similar name.

I am sure the banks will never give way on the principle that it is always the customer’s responsibility to ensure that they have given the correct details for transferring money via the Faster Payments Service – which is regarded as a more expedient and reliable method than issuing cheques.

The advice to customers is not to change the destination of a money transfer without authenticating it with the payee directly even if the ‘instruction’ purported to come from the payee. The new process, when it is implemented, will no doubt make life more difficult for scammers and stop many wrongful transfers, but errors will continue to arise so customers must remain continually vigilant and double check everything. The larger the amount involved the more care the payer must take and a trial transfer for a new payee is recommended.