Influencer Scams

Good morning, folks! Welcome back to Fraud Fridays!

Today's FF will be covering Influencer Scams! These are not scams perpetrated by influencers, but rather scams that target budding influencers! Are you a smalltime influencer just trying to get your profile up to snuff? If you're reading this, statistically speaking, no. It's still a scam that is currently going around, so I will be covering it. Instagram influencers are not the only people that will be targeted by this scam. This scam is commonly pushed to any content creator during their career. Eventually, you figure out which are legitimate, and which are not. For your sake, let's expedite that process!

Okay, before I begin, a bit of terminology for old fogeys such as myself. Emoji are the little smileys and eggplants the yunguns send each other. DM means "Direct Message" PM means "Personal Message" these terms are interchangeable. Influencers are.... I guess they allegedly sway public opinion for or against companies (hence influence), but they're really just advertisers. A youtuber is a type of influencer. Simply put, influencing is just another form of online marketing.

Now, what is The Instagram Influencer scam? Well, it's really just a variant of the Dropshipping scam and a Sweet-talking scam. Check out the FF from 12/2/2022 for more information on dropshipping.

Today, more and more brands pay into Instagram Influencer Marketing. With this surge in new marketing potential came a nigh-identical surge of Influencer-targeted scams. These rely on the desperation of small-time influencers who just want to be noticed. This scam is a variant of a sweet-talks scam. They turn their vicious, money-grubbing heads in smiley-face emojis and cutesy overkill. Common comments look like the following: "Hi Sweetie!! You are beautiful. DM me for a collab *Insert unnerving number of emoji here*" They may even DM you and skip the comments. Another DM you may receive may read like “Hi Lovely, we just ADORE your gorgeous feed. Let’s work together in a partnership. Respond for more info, beautiful [kissy face, heart, smiley].” Where did professionalism in a company go? Well, it's still exactly where it has been. In companies. Well, that's debatable. I say this because that person sending you 23 emoji per message are not representing a company! They're a scammer after your happiness! No, their real target is your money. Like always.

That's neat and scary, but let's move on to the tells. There are five common agreed upon tells for Influencer scams.

1.) A brand using cutesy language or emoji. This is regarding not their marketing, but their business correspondence. The fact is, legitimate companies, when contacting influencers, are overwhelmingly professional. This is a marketing agreement and business arrangement. Just because your posts are phrased with emoji and cutesy language doesn't mean that a company would contact you the same way.

2.) A brand contacts you via a brief Instagram comment. How many business arrangements do you think have been made this way? How many actually worked? If you are unaware, influencers generally get brand deals through actual legwork. It's not just posting pretty pictures to be noticed. You are marketing yourself and your profile as a reliable marketing platform. That means pitching yourself, creating and solidifying your brand, contacting brands directly, creating your media kit (effectively the content creator variant of a resume/CV).

3.) The offer is vague, leaving you with questions. This is pretty straight forward. It's a business dealing. You should be clear on what is expected of you as a marketer, and what is expected of them as the business paying for the marketing.

4.) You aren't expected to buy the product and aren't getting paid. Ahh yes, and the time-honored phrase still holds true. If you're good at something, don't do it for free. The reason that they don't need you to buy the product is simply because it's a dropshipping scam. They want you to push this horrible, over-priced garbage to your viewership. This will make them money off of your gullible viewers and make them trust you less in the long run. Meanwhile, the "company" makes off with their money after selling 3D printed garbage.

5.) A brand isn't engaged with or following you. This one is less on the nose, but generally, the companies that want to use you as a sales platform will follow you to ensure that you are a good match for their sales push. This is because if you don't match their target demographic, usually, your followers aren't the target demographic either. Along with this, nobody wants to market on a page that is filled with controversial opinions. Scammers on the other hand, don't care what you post. They're after your follower's money. Not a reputable name.

6.) Anything asking if your page has anything to do with underwear. This is a form of sex scam. Likely complete with blackmail. They may even use your photos to catfish some poor lad or lass.

7.) If you need to pay to sponsor, that's a scam. You are the one putting their information on your page. You don't get additional recognition. No one has ever said "Oh nihilistix is doing a Vessi promotion, maybe I should look at their content."

That's not how browsing works. It would be the company being featured that has things to gain. Not the influencer.

The worst part, these scams are prolific. They target influencers and ruin their reputation. They steal from consumers with cheap products in exchange for too much money. They prey on the dreams and aspirations of people just trying to make their names. Below is a quote from The Uncorked Librarian. She was a great help learning behind the shots of this particular Instagram Scam.

"Unfortunately, many offers are duds and just insulting Instagram collab scams.

Brands assume that micro-influencers have little experience and are, quite frankly, easy targets. The smaller the audience = the bigger the IG scam."

All in all, these scams are the same as many others. Exploiting your need to grow your channel to steal from you and your viewers. As a responsible Influencer, be sure to look for the tells which I have numbered above. Stay vigilant and stay safe.

Thank you very much for joining me for this week's Fraud Friday, I know this one is extremely niche. It is still important information. Now, this is unorthodox, but I would like to do a small CTA. If you are currently someone who is debating on creating content, start. Even as a hobby, content creation can be extremely fun and informative. Find your niche and idea. Start your channel, website, or page today!