Nicole Reeves had her Instagram hijacked by scammers who then went on to steal thousands of pounds from other victims. The mum told the programme how she fell for the scam because she believed it was an opportunity recommended by friends.
When an advert popped up for an investment scheme called the Money Flip, Nicole found herself intrigued.
She would usually be sceptical about such opportunities, however this one appeared to be recommended by someone she knew.
She said: “I was scrolling through Instagram and on one of the stories that came up, it was a friend, and in the video he was saying how much he appreciated this money flip.
“How he’d got a massive kind of financial investment, how he’d gained a lot of money and how he was very happy and it turned his life around.”
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He told her to message someone called Shanny Powell but before she did she checked out the profile which included glowing endorsements of Money Flip.
There are more than one Instagram accounts under the name of Shanny Powell – but whereas some are authentic – this particular one wasn’t.
Nicole added: “I just thought ‘wow it’s got to be real’ – these videos go back a couple of years.”
Initially, Nicole was encouraged to invest £500 before then being told the great news that she had been chosen to win £20,000 but she’d need to put in another £740.
Then she was asked to record a video endorsing the money flip process just…
