Instagram Creators Face Extortion Over Fake Claims

Instagram creators are facing significant financial losses, with some reporting thousands of pounds lost after their accounts were suspended or taken down due to fake copyright claims. The scam involves individuals filing bogus claims on the Meta-owned platform and then demanding ransoms to withdraw them. Repeated false claims can lead to permanent account bans.

One affected user, who boasts 1.5 million followers, stated he paid a $50 ransom to retrieve his account. He cited Meta's appeal process as being too slow, a delay that had previously cost him thousands in lost earnings. While a Meta spokesperson acknowledged the frustration and stated that systems are designed to prevent such incidents, content creators argue that the platform is poor at identifying obviously spurious cases and that its appeals process is slow unless a monthly fee is paid.