Instagram Creators Are Paying Ransoms to Scammers Filing Fake Copyright Claims
Fraudsters are abusing Instagram's copyright reporting system to shake down creators for hundreds of dollars, knowing Meta's slow appeals process gives victims little choice.
Key points
- Scammers filed bogus copyright complaints against Instagram accounts in 2026, then demanded payments of up to $900 (£668) to withdraw them.
- Instagram's parent company Meta does not verify the authenticity of a copyright complaint before acting on it, meaning repeated fake claims can get an account temporarily suspended.
- One creator with 1.5 million followers paid a scammer $50 in cryptocurrency, only to be hit with fresh fake claims immediately afterward.
- Meta charges a £9.99 monthly fee for a verified tier that unlocks 24/7 live-chat support, the only fast route to help for targeted accounts.
- Researchers say artificial intelligence tools now let fraudsters run this scam at scale, making it harder for platforms to separate real copyright claims from fake ones.
Scammers have found a reliable way to squeeze money out of Instagram creators: file a fake copyright claim, watch Meta suspend the account, then demand payment to make the problem go away.
The fraud works because Instagram's copyright complaint system, which lets anyone report that their creative work has been used without permission, does not check whether the person filing a complaint actually owns the content in question. File enough claims against one account, and that account gets taken down. The scammer then contacts the creator, usually via the private messaging app Telegram, and names a price.
How did this scam catch people off guard?
Creators had little warning because Meta acts on complaints before checking whether they are real. Olly, the creator behind the Lost in Time History account and its 1.5 million followers, told BBC News he received dozens of "obviously fake" complaints in 2026 alone, often hitting multiple posts at once from the same email address. His account was demonetised, meaning Instagram cut off his ability to earn money from well-performing posts, costing him brand contracts worth thousands.
After his account was suspended, Olly paid a scammer $50 in cryptocurrency as a last resort. Law enforcement agencies consistently advise victims not to pay extortion demands, because payment funds the criminals and rarely ends the problem. Olly found this out immediately: fresh fake claims arrived the moment he paid.
Another affected creator, Abin Tom Sebastian of the Morbid Kuriosity account, said Meta "forced you to pay for support to talk" even while the platform claimed to support creators.
| Account | Followers | Demand | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost in Time History (Olly) | 1.5 million | $50 paid in crypto | Re-hit immediately after payment |
| Morbid Kuriosity (Sebastian) | Not disclosed | Not paid | Lost brand contracts |
| Unnamed third creator | Not disclosed | $900 demanded | Unknown |
Why is Meta struggling to stop this?
The platform was built on the assumption that people filing copyright complaints are telling the truth. With billions of users, separating genuine complaints from fake ones at speed is hard.
Andres Guadamuz, a reader in intellectual property law at the University of Sussex, told BBC News that artificial intelligence, software capable of automating repetitive tasks, has made the scam cheaper and faster to run. "It's a numbers game," he said. "Pretty much anyone can now deploy AI that is going to automate all of this in some way."
Meta told BBC News it had restored affected content and added extra protections to the accounts flagged in the investigation. A spokesperson said the company's systems are designed to stop this happening and that it fights against deceptive behaviour targeting people and businesses.
What should creators do right now?
Do not pay. Payment rarely resolves the problem and marks you as a willing target. Document every fake complaint, including the email address used and any messages demanding money, and report them to your national cybercrime unit.
If your account is suspended and you need it restored quickly, Meta's Verified subscription (£9.99 a month) currently offers the only direct route to live support. That is an imperfect fix, but it is the fastest option available while Meta works on longer-term protections.
