45-year-old baker lost his home-based business after losing his Instagram account to scammer

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A home-based baker loses his Instagram account to scammers, who in turn used his hijacked Instagram account to advertise fake investment schemes to his 5,000 followers.

Mr Faisel Mohamed (45) was running his home-based baking business through his Instagram account. On 10 September, he received an order for kueh lapis from a customer who demanded that he would pay only after Mr Faisel verified his identity as a genuine seller.

According to Zaobao, the customer claimed he wanted the verification because he previously did not receive items he ordered from other home-based businesses via Instagram. The customer also told Mr Faisel to take a screenshot of an Instagram message he will receive and forward it to him.

After doing what the customer requested, Mr Faisel e-mail from Instagram informing him that a user in Nigeria had changed his login details. That was when he realised that he had been scammed.

“I was busy chatting with a few other customers at the same time, and it didn’t occur to me to check the link. If only I had thought about it before sending it. This is my biggest regret,” said Mr Faisel.

After stealing his account, the scammers reportedly also used his Instagram account to advertise fake investment schemes and contests to his 5,000 followers. In an Instagram post that since has been deleted, the scammer claimed he made $10,000 from a $500 investment by following the advice of an investment guru.

This has resulted in many of Mr Faisel’s followers unfollowing him. As a home-based business, Mr Faisel said he depends a lot on his followers, who are his loyal customers. He also added that he has since stopped taking orders completely because he doesn’t know how many baking supplies he needs to buy. In addition, it would also be too expensive if he only has a few orders to deliver.

Mr Faisel has made many attempts to get his account back, including sending a photo of him holding his NRIC to Instagram. But unfortunately, he has been unsuccessful in confirming that he is the genuine owner of the account.

“I am really at my wits’ end. Even if I create a new account, how can I get my followers back? The Instagram algorithm has changed and it is much more difficult now,” he said.

“I’ve been cornered, even if I open a new account, how do I add followers back, Instagram’s algorithm has changed, and it’s harder to attract followers.”

A police report had since been lodged and the police have also confirmed that they are looking into the matter.

Meanwhile, Meta, Instagram’s parent company, said that it continues to protect its users from hackers and scams. The company is aware of Mr Faisel’s case and is in the process of recovering his account.

Sibei zek ark leh all these scammers! But regardless hor, we sincerely hope that Mr Faisel will get back his Instagram account soon!


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