Instagram scam: 'I spent £1200 on clothes for my son that never arrived' – The Guardian

Mel was duped by an Instagram scam in April this year, spending £1,200 on clothes that never arrived after seeing a fraudulent advert, served up by an algorithm after she had searched for suits online.While scrolling through the photo-sharing app, which she had recently signed up for in order to view her children’s posts, she saw an advert for a closing down sale at Charles Tyrwhitt.Her son was about to start an office job and she had been searching online for smart work clothes to buy him, so she was expecting to see targeted adverts.“I wasn’t surprised it had popped up in my feed because I had been searching off Instagram for suits and ties and I had probably clicked on other Instagram ads too but hadn’t bought anything,” she said.The Instagram post promised 40% off all items and clicked through to a fake Charles Tyrwhitt website within the app. Mel placed an order for £1,200 using her credit card, buying shirts, suits, socks and ties for her son. The goods never arrived.According to research by high street bank TSB, 80% of purchase fraud cases reported to the bank come from platforms owned by Meta, which includes Instagram, as well
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