If you see me DM-ing you on Instagram, take a second look.
If I’m asking how your trading options are going, or whether you want to invest in crypto, it probably isn’t me.
Truth is, I do message my followers. Especially if we’re friends, or if you’re a fellow content creator. But as a user, be skeptical. One of my Instagram followers says she lost $4,000 from a scammer pretending to be me—and honestly, that can happen to anyone.
Posing as financial influencers is the new favorite trick of scammers on the internet. Last year, 95,000 people reported they were victims of social media scams, losing a combined $770 million. Victims who reported it say it was mostly on Facebook and Instagram. This is all according to the Federal Trade Commission.
My name is Chloé Daniels and I’m a money coach who educates people about investing on social media. Since I crossed the 10,000 follower count on Instagram in 2021, scammer accounts pretending to be me have been a consistent presence both on Instagram and TikTok. These scammer accounts look a lot like me: they’ve taken my profile picture, my bio, and even all my posts. They have handles almost exactly the same as mine.
For example, instead of my real handle @clobaremoneycoach,…
