If you receive an email about becoming verified on Instagram, be careful, it’s probably a scam.
Cybersecurity company Vade reported Thursday that some users have been receiving suspicious emails from hackers posing as Instagram since late July. The emails say the user’s profile has been reviewed and selected for verification.
The emails use the subject line “ig bluebadge info” and come from an address named “ig-badges.” Some users might think the email is legitimate since Instagram and Facebook logos are placed near the top and bottom of the email.
However, the emails show various misspellings and formatting errors. For example, one part of the email reads, “Thanks, you instagram team.”
This is what the suspicious email reportedly looks like.
Vade“The hackers hope these tactics disguise the signs of a phishing scam, including the context of the email,” Vade wrote.
A phishing scam is when hackers use bait — in this instance, the opportunity to be verified on Instagram — to lure victims to click a malicious link or enter personal information into a malicious form. These scams usually take place within emails so its hard for security software to block or filter them out.
Instagram writes in its Help Center that the verification process takes place within the app, not over email, and you have to be a public figure, celebrity or a brand to request to be verified.
If you receive one of these emails, the best thing to do is to not click anything within it and delete it.
Meta, Instagram’s parent company, did not immediately respond to CNET’s request for comment.
For more, check out this FBI and House Committee warning about cryptocurrency fraud and how to spot a student loan relief scam.
