Instagram creators are losing thousands of pounds after their accounts are suspended due to fake copyright claims, with scammers demanding ransoms to restore them.
The scam relies on a flaw in how social media platforms handle disputes. Extorters file bogus copyright complaints against creators. If an account is hit repeatedly, the platform automatically takes it down. The scammers then reach out, demanding payment in cryptocurrency to withdraw the claims and restore the account.
Olly, who runs a history page with 1.5 million followers, has received dozens of “obviously fake” complaints this year. He eventually paid a scammer $50 just to get his page back, knowing that waiting for the official appeal process could take weeks and cost him thousands in lost income.
“That’s the worst part,” he said. “Having to pay the person who’s actively put you through all of that anguish only for it to happen straight away again.”
The financial damage goes far beyond the ransom itself. Abin Tom Sebastian, another creator, said he lost crucial brand contracts while his account was tied up in the dispute. He criticized the platform for being unhelpful, noting that creators are essentially forced to pay a £9.99 monthly verification fee just to get access to live human support.
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Meta states that its systems are designed to protect users and that it has restored affected content while adding new safeguards. But experts point out a fundamental design issue. Andres Guadamuz, an intellectual property law expert, explained that the system was built on the assumption that the person making a claim was legitimate. Today, automated tools make it incredibly easy for scammers to flood the system with fake complaints.
Reporters even tracked down three individuals filing these strikes, who appear to be based in or near India. While they denied holding accounts to ransom and claimed they were just charging a “service fee,” the messages showed demands for hundreds of dollars to drop a claim.
Law enforcement strongly advises victims not to pay, as it only fuels the criminal ecosystem. But for creators whose entire livelihood depends on their digital presence, waiting weeks for a broken system to fix itself is simply not an option. They are left paying the price out of their own pockets, just hoping the next notification isn’t another scammer looking for a payout.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
