Instagram creators are reporting financial losses and account suspensions due to a rise in fake copyright claims. Extortionists are filing bogus claims with the Meta-owned platform and then demanding ransoms to withdraw them, leveraging the fact that repeated claims can lead to account bans.
One Instagram user, with 1.5 million followers, stated he paid a scammer $50 (£37) to regain access to his account, citing that Meta's appeal process could take weeks and had previously cost him thousands in lost income. Meta has acknowledged the issue, with a spokesperson stating their systems are designed to protect users and that they have restored affected content and added protections after review.
However, content creators interviewed by the BBC claim Meta is ineffective at identifying obviously spurious cases and that its appeals process is slow unless users pay a monthly fee for verified support. Olly, who runs the 'Lost in Time History' Instagram account, has received dozens of "obviously fake" copyright complaints in 2026, often from the same email address, leading to temporary account takedowns.
Olly recounted being contacted by the claimants via Telegram, where they demanded hundreds of dollars to withdraw the claim. He ultimately paid $50 in cryptocurrency as a "last resort" to restore his account, only to be hit with more copyright strikes immediately afterwards. Law enforcement advises against paying ransoms as it fuels criminal activity.
Andres Guadamuz, an intellectual property law expert, noted that while copyright scams are not new, a recent increase in this method may be due to AI making it easier to automate such activities on a larger scale. He added that it is challenging for platforms with billions of users to distinguish legitimate claims from fake ones, as the system was largely built on the assumption that claimants were genuine.