📖 The Story:
Mari, a 24-year-old student from Estonia, received a DM from what appeared to be a verified Instagram account, offering her the coveted blue checkmark.
The message claimed her TikTok growth had been noticed and she was “selected” for early verification.
The link looked like a Meta platform, asking her to log in to “connect” her Instagram. Within hours:
- her account was taken over,
- profile photo and name were changed,
- her followers received crypto investment links from her hacked profile.
🚩 Red Flags:
- Promises of verification without request
- Links leading to third-party sites
- Requests for login info or passwords
- Pressure to act quickly before “the chance expires”