Instagram creators hit by new fake copyright strike scam

Instagram creators are falling victim to a new kind of scam where extorters are filing fraudulent copyright claims against creators accounts.

Scammers have exploited an automated system that penalizes users for repeated strikes to force account suspensions or demonetization. Speaking about the ransom, they demanded cryptocurrency or online payments ranging from $50 to hundreds of dollars through messaging apps like Telegram to withdraw bogus strikes.

For instance, one targeted user with more than 1.5 million followers had to pay $50 ( around ₹4,700) to get his account back after being hit by such a scam.

Meta acknowledged this issue and announced to restore affected content after reviewing the cases. According to Meta’s spokesperson, the company also added additional protections to prevent future scams of such kind.

"We understand this can be frustrating for those impacted, and our systems are designed to protect people from this happening in the first place," a Meta spokesperson said.

"Following our review, we have restored the affected content and added additional protections to safeguard accounts against further attempts of this kind."

This incident also shows Meta’s vulnerabilities as the platform's system automatically processes copyright complaints without upfront authenticity checks, and content creators claim the official appeal process is slow unless they pay for Meta Verified ($9.99/month) to access live support.

Experts note that the proliferation of AI has allowed bad actors to automate and scale these copyright scams, echoing similar tactics previously seen on platforms like YouTube.