Instagram has become a social media juggernaut since Mark Zuckerberg bought it for $1 billion in April 2012.
Instagram is used by more than a billion people each month, and influencers depend heavily on it for income.
Naturally, hackers and scammers looking to take advantage of people and make a quick buck will target any online community of this size.
There are things you can do to avoid being scammed and the worst scams—a combination of security settings and minor behavioral changes.
Thankfully, the process is not overly complicated, and even relatively minor adjustments can have a significant impact.
First, avoid clicking on links sent to you, especially from accounts you don't know or if a friend sends a URL that seems out of character.
Second, you should make suspicion your default setting. If you have made your Instagram account public, anyone can view your posts and message you.
By limiting who can message you, you reduce scam risk. To make your account private, go to Settings > Privacy> and toggle your account to Private.
You can protect your account from scammers by using a unique, strong password and and turning on multifactor authentication
Multifactor authentication requires anyone trying to log in to your account to enter a login code or click a notification in addition to your password. It helps prevent account takeovers.
To enable two-factor authentication on Instagram, follow these steps. Go to Settings> Security> Two-Factor Authentication.
There, you can enable security protection if your Instagram account is hacked in the worst-case scenario.