Ontario man loses $2,700 in Instagram scam

When a North York man got a message on Instagram from a friend to invest in cryptocurrencies he thought he would give it a try.

“He is one of my best friends and I trust everything he says,” said Noel Bacani.

Bacani didn’t know his friend’s Instagram account had been hacked and he was actually communicating with a scammer.

“Since the fraudster was posing as my friend on Instagram, I didn't know that at the time, so I was pretty much putting all my trust in whatever the fraudster was telling me," said Bacani.

Bacani said only after he sent the scammer money did he contact his friend by phone and found out his friend’s Instagram account had been hacked.

Bacani said, “I ended up e-transferring $2,700 and I lost that."

Bacani complained to his bank, but following an investigation it was determined he was at fault for the loss.

CTV News Toronto reached out to Instagram and a spokesperson from Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said, “We have sophisticated measures in place to stop bad actors in their tracks before they gain access to accounts, as well as measures to help people recover their accounts. “

“We know we can do more here, and we're working hard in both of these areas to stop bad actors before they cause harm, and to keep our community safe,” said the spokesperson.

“It’s important, more than ever right now, that we are taking care of our cyber security,” said social media expert Janita Pannu with Toronto Digital Marketing Company Opiia Inc.

Pannu said anytime you get a message on social media that seems suspicious or unusual you should call the person directly to make sure it's really them before taking any action.

"You should say, ‘I received this message from you, so do you really need help? Are you really into cryptocurrency investments?’ It’s best to try and clear the air that way,” said Pannu.

To avoid being hacked, you should also use a strong password and change it often. Use two-factor authentication and always log out of platforms when you're done using them and be cautious using third-party apps.

Bacani says he plans to be more careful after losing $2,700 and said, “I can’t believe how I could have fallen for this type of scam."

Because many social media platforms are free to use when you do have a problem it can be difficult to get help and while most allow you to reach out for support it could take weeks before someone gets back to you.