6:34 a.m.: Woke up and checked direct messages on Instagram. Then, scrolled through Instagram feed and saw different advertisements for economical and credit card debt relief.
The sponsored post was created by an account called Consumer Advocate Today. When I went to look at the account profile it was no longer available. It didn’t surprise me that Instagram removed it because the post was worded like attention getting click bait. The headline was misleading and fabricated a sense of urgency, claiming that you can get rid of $27,456 in credit card debt if you apply today before “it” ends. The post makes an implausible claim and is missing specific details.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3_SfVbNeu1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
8:20 a.m.: Scrolled through Instagram feed again and found another sponsored post for debt relief. The image is a screenshot from the video and uses sensational language and imagery and exaggerated claims. In the video the someone pulls hundreds of dollars out of an ATM and there is a reaction video of someone feigning surprise. The account HappeningNow USA shares the same profile picture as the profile u.happeningnow which commented “I’m still shocked. Best decision my wife and I have ever made.” That profile has also been removed since this morning.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4BSun2Nizk/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
11:27 a.m.: Checked my Gmail and saw that I had also received an email promising credit card debt relief. Again, the email used sensationalized language, was vague and missing important information. The link to get a free estimate in the body of the email without additional information makes the post come across as misinformative.
The email address did not have the domain of a national debt relief program and seemed like a fraudulent email intended to look like a legitimate debt relief program from a trusted source.
2:47 p.m.: Called a phone number this afternoon when I was trying to change the passenger information on my upcoming flight. The phone number I called was 1-800-684-8331. Almost identical the United Airlines phone number. The voice recording would not give me any other menu options but to hear more about a special offer. I listened to the recording a couple of times and growing frustrated I hung up. I went back and viewed another email from United and saw their phone number is 1-800-864-8331.
This false contact information was purposefully disguised as credible, and likely fabricated to steal credit card and personal identification information from travelers with upcoming flights.
4:01 p.m.: Scrolled through Instagram feed again and found ANOTHER sponsored post for credit card debt relief. Shoker. The claims were not credible, were sensationalized, and exaggerated. There is not enough information to back them up and the account California Debt Relief has 0 posts, only a link to their website.
Their website contained more of the same content, and after a quick google search, I found that www.californiadebtrelief.org has a low trust score of 58.8/100. Although associated with a legitimate agency, this report rates the site as having an active medium-risk score.
californiadebtrelief.org Reviews: Is this site a scam or legit? – Scam Detector (scam-detector.com)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cplo1gLjBz9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I suspect that third party data collected during my Google search yesterday on personal loans and credit cards is how I have received both sponsored posts and emails about debt relief programs. This is usually more questionable content than I see in a day. I did not expect to see so much with my limited online media usage. Anything that shares similarities with the posts and email mentioned in this blog post, I do not click on because it immediately seems misinformative and non-trustworthy.