Anti-fraud organisation Action Fraud has warned Instagram users to be wary of fraudulent investment posts as news emerges of more than 350 people being cheated out of a total of nearly £3.2m in the last five months.

The scams offer ‘get rich quick’ schemes on the Instagram app

Action Fraud says that between October 2018 and February 2019, it received 356 reports of this fraud, often targeting young people.

The total loss so far was £3,168,464 – an average of £8,900 per person. 

Action Fraud says young people aged between 20 and 30 were the most likely to fall victim.

Fraudsters are advertising ‘get rich quick’ investment schemes on the app which promise a high return within 24 hours, says Action Fraud.

A £600 investment is initially requested which fraudsters claim will be multiplied within 24 hours. Victims are then making payments via bank transfer to the fraudster’s bank account.

Fraudsters are then sent screenshots showing accounts thousands in profit which they claim can be released for a fee.

When victims request a withdrawal of funds while they’re still in profit the fraudsters stop contact with the victim and close the Instagram account. 

Inspector Paul Carroll of Action Fraud, said: “Opportunistic fraudsters are taking advantage of unsuspecting victims who are going about their day-to-day lives on social media.”

He urged victims, or those who suspect they have been cheated, to contact Action Fraud which has urged Instagram users to never respond to any requests to send money or have money transferred into an account by someone they don’t know and trust.