Win a Free iPhone on Instagram? Sorry, It's a Scam

Social media scams are nothing new, but cyberthieves continue to think up new ploys to get your personal information. If you use Instagram, you might've noticed a sudden uptick of strangers tagging you in posts about winning a free iPhone 13. All you have to do is click the link in the description to claim it, the post says. This scheme isn't new: It has reportedly resurfaced every few years along with the release of a new iPhone. 

If you've been tagged in one -- or several -- of these posts, sorry, but there's no free phone waiting for you. If you click the link, you'll be redirected to a webpage where you'll be asked to enter a few details and your credit or debit card information, according to a February report by Hindustan Times Tech.

Here's how to be on the lookout for the scam and how to guard against it.

What does the scam look like on Instagram?

Here are two examples of what this scam looks: 

What should you do if you see the Instagram scam?

First and foremost, don't click the link. This might seem obvious, but scammers are smart and use phishing schemes to prey on vulnerabilities, like a person's lack of tech savvy. There are plenty of legitimate sweepstakes opportunities online, but if you've entered any of them, you know it's highly unlikely that you'll win. Plus, for a legitimate sweepstakes, there should be easy-to-access information about how the contest works, how you can enter, who's sponsoring the contest and similar important information, even if it's in fine print.

With social media scams, it's far more difficult to follow a digital paper trail to the source, if there's a trail at all. If you run a separate search for the user who "tagged" you or the link they want you to click on, likely little to nothing will come up in the Instagram app. Other red flags can include obviously photoshopped images, a lot of emojis, urgent language and misspellings. 

Ignoring the tag is an option, but there are a lot of ways to tighten your Instagram security settings. Here are a few other ways to protect yourself from this scheme:

Limit who can mention you in comments

The best way to combat this particular scam is to lock down who can mention you in a post's comments. Here's what to do: 

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Tap the settings bars in the upper right corner.
4. Choose Settings.
5. Tap Mentions.
6.Choose to allow mentions from Everyone, People You Follow or No One. 

Limit who can tag you in photos

Tagging other users in photos is common on social media, but you can get more control by adjusting your app settings. 

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Tap the settings bars in the upper right corner.
4. Choose Settings.
5. Tap Posts.
6. From here you can choose Allow Tags From and select Everyone, People You Follow or No One, as well as the option to Manually Approve Tags. 

Control who can message you

The "free iPhone" posts have been mostly spotted in comments, but there have been reports of DM messages as well. Here's how to quickly adjust your message settings:

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Tap the settings bars in the upper right corner.
4. Choose Settings.
5. Tap Messages.
6. From here you can choose whether messages from strangers appear in your main inbox, your requests folder or aren't received at all. 

Report suspicious comments as spam

Since most of these fake contests appear in comments, knowing how to flag them is important. You can also report comments that don't mention you, which can be helpful when conversations get heated on a post. Here's what to do: 

1. Select the comment in question.
2. Tap the speech bubble with an exclamation mark icon. This should pop up at the top of your screen in a blue banner.
3. Select Report This Comment. You can also choose to block the account. 

Set your account to private 

Making your Instagram account private is more of a general security measure. If your account is set to private, other users will have to request to follow you. If you accept the request, they can view your content. It's easy to change this setting:

1. Open the Instagram app.
2. Tap your profile icon in the bottom right of the screen.
3. Tap the settings bars in the upper right corner.
4. Choose Settings.
5. Tap Privacy.
6.Toggle on Private Account. 

For more information, check out phishing tactics disguised as "fun" to watch out for on social media, and browser settings you should change to protect your privacy.