By Jordan Bermudez, Staff Writer
image via: University of Chicago
The holidays are time for a plentiful amount of things: setting up Christmas decorations, opening presents, sending letters to Santa, annoying (for some) finals, and preparing for winter break. However, malicious people try to catch many users of Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. off guard, and steal their information, ruining the holiday spirit.
Unfortunately, many people have already experienced this time, including me, and had bugs in their account, or random messages that are coming from us that we didn’t send. This can lead to mistrust in the original user, as well as make others lose their money, and get scammed of everything that they have.
So, how did this happen to me? Well, basically after school on a Wednesday, I was friending people on Instagram, when one of these followers immediately told me, “Yo. Can you help me with something?” I decided to answer the message and say, “Yeah, sure.”
They then told me that they “needed help” on resetting their Instagram account, and that they couldn’t do it alone, providing a screenshot of it. This is where things started to take a wild turn. After sharing my number to talk on messages instead of Insta, he then asked me to reset their password through my account.
This happens a lot, and scammers like them always want to give assurance on the matter while stalling out for this long. After many more codes being sent, and some calls to him leading to voicemail, it all seemed like it was the end of it. However, on further inspection of who this actually was, they revealed that they were lying the whole time, saying “you didn’t need your Instagram account, right lol,” and that got me very mad.
I immediately blocked the number while my own account was under notice by Instagram, forcing me to prove my age to keep the account back. So, I did that, and everything seemed normal, until the second day, with the scammer now supposedly “gone.”
That day was when everything went wrong. At around 5:00, messages from my account started spiraling out of control, with the scammer sending the messages and not me. Thankfully, my mom already got involved in the matter, and planned to already work things out on my user settings, though we both were already in a large panic.
After I changed my password and denied any other users with account access, I felt relieved. Even though this was all over, I still had to resolve all the issues with the ones that I “messaged,” saying that I was just scammed, and those previous texts weren’t me. But, at least this stuff is now over, for now.
So, what did my story teach me about life on platforms like this? Well, for starters, you can’t trust anyone too much on the internet, as they can bait you into traps that will get you into deeper trouble. People can be scammed for money, private info like phone numbers, addresses, and emails, as well as getting into personal trouble with followers, leading their vibe towards you to change after the situation. Either way, getting scammed is no fun at all, and could get you into dangerous waters quickly. With that in mind, here are some tips to make sure not to get scammed.
First off, don’t trust anyone on a first glance on the internet. A lot of people definitely try to fake as others, and lure you in by “connections they have” with you. Watch out for folks who ask you for something immediately after you friend them, as that’s the way most people get caught in scams like this. If you do get into a situation where you’re forced to talk with them, ask who they are first, in order to prove their identity and how trustable they may be. You may need to get a bit personal with questions, so that if they answer wrong, then it’s almost always a scammer, and you can stop the scam early.
Another big point to add is to not entertain the scammer, as you’ll most likely be sending information that’s very personal their way, and if they get into your account, you may not know about it before they actually strike.
Do not let other people in unknown areas into your account, as that’s the main way that people can and will get scammed. If in the rare and unfortunate case that you do let them into your account, block the user and report them instantly. Even though their “personal” account may be deleted by Instagram directly, you would still need to take action as soon as possible, by changing your password to the site, or letting others know that you just got scammed, and prove innocence on the matter.
If you get sudden messages that ask you for money or anything else, without a reason as to why, then that’s a major red flag and you should decline on the offer immediately, and block them. And lastly, if any suspicious things appear on your account, always report it to the owner of this social media, as then they will take charge in helping you out on the matter.
Even though unfortunately many people fall into the traps of scammers, at least now, you’ll be prepared for the matter when this situation ever arises.
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