An Abu Dhabi resident, Palestinian-Canadian first-aid trainer Tamim, recently had her Instagram hacked after falling for a Bitcoin investment scam. She received a message from someone claiming to be her friend’s brother, convincing her to share a code to “set up” her investment.
Tamim shared the code in the Instagram chat and was instantly locked out. When she called her friend’s sister, she learned that the brother’s account was also hacked. Although Tamim avoided direct losses, several of her followers were not as lucky, with one losing as much as $30,000.
The hackers posed as Tamim, sharing fake images of money and promises of quick wins, leading her followers to invest thousands. A Dubai banker, a follower from Saudi Arabia, and others fell victim to this Instagram scam.
Tamim spent weeks trying to recover her account but ultimately paid an IT specialist in Dubai to delete it. She has since opened a new account and now avoids messages from strangers.
Lt-Col Ali Al Nuaimi, Cyber Crime Security Head with Abu Dhabi Police, warns that scams like these use social engineering. Hackers don’t always need to directly hack accounts but lure users to willingly share their login info. Protect yourself by ignoring unsolicited investment offers, not sharing codes or links, and staying vigilant against identity theft.
