Cyberscammers are using fake Instagram profiles to lure users to adult sites in order to earn money through affiliate programs.
In November Symantec researchers noticed that an influx in fake profiles containing photographs stolen from legitimate profiles were being used to get the attention of real users through unsolicited likes and follows, according to a Jan. 7 blog post. Some fake accounts also featured pictures of women in lingerie or censored nude pictures with bios claiming offering users erotic meetings by clicking a link in the profile.
The links would either direct a user to a page serving as an intermediary of the actual adult sites or to the adult website and include the affiliate ID, the post said.
Researchers called the scam unique because the fake profiles aren't bots and won't converse with users through the Instagram Direct feature.
