Beware of calls for help

How “friends” lure you into a trap via Insta and co.

Beware of dubious messages from supposed friends.(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Koshiro)

Many Tyroleans are currently receiving mail from people they apparently know via Instagram chat or Facebook Messenger. But beware! Crooks want to steal login data with this scam.

Internet scams are a dime a dozen - and criminals have long since discovered social networks such as Instagram and Facebook. The insidious scam in which users are contacted by supposed friends with the sole aim of stealing their login details is currently on the increase again.

Call for help from old "friend" turned out to be a lie
"A few days ago, I received a message on Instagram from a friend asking me for a favor," recalls Sebastian L. (name known to the editors). The Tyrolean immediately wrote back to his supposed school friend, whom he hadn't heard from for several years. "After all, I was looking forward to hearing from him again. And if I can help an old 'Spezl', I'm happy to do so," thought the 32-year-old.

Instagram profile was hacked
But when the "friend" sent him a link and asked him to vote for him on a platform, Sebastian became suspicious. "Luckily, I still had his cell phone number and called him." It turned out that his friend's Instagram profile had been hacked a few days earlier.

If the Tyrolean had clicked on the link, he would have ended up on a fake Instagram log-in page. "The criminals would have gotten my data directly and carried out various scams," Sebastian is convinced.