New Scam Is Targeting San Diego Women On Instagram And OnlyFans

Cybersecurity experts are warning people of a new scam that is targeting young women on Instagram.

According to NBC7, criminals are using the real names and photos of women to make fake accounts that look nearly identical to the original. The fake account then links to a website that looks similar to OnlyFans and promises sexually explicit content in exchange for credit card information.

“It definitely is scary,” San Diego State University sophomore Sophie Rokaw told NBC7. “It is kind of embarrassing to explain to your family and friends what it is.”

Rokaw is one of the many young women who have had their accounts impersonated by scammers. She says she woke up to dozens of messages alerting her that her photos had been stolen for the fake account.

“If you didn’t look at the bio and you just looked at the posts they had, it could be believable,” she said.

Rokaw was able to report the account but it took several days.

CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center Eva Velasquez thinks social media platforms should do more to protect their users from these scenarios.

“The reality is it is very hard to investigate these types of crimes and figure out who did it,” Velasquez said. “And once you figure it out, the chances that they are in a country where we would extradite them is very small.”

Velasquez says the best way to keep your account safe is to make it private and only accept followers if they are friends and family.