Yikes, watch out! – Alize Quiroz

Last year, I almost fell for one of those Instagram “brand ambassador” scams, and it honestly taught me a lot about how easy it is to get tricked online. I got a DM from what looked like a cute little boutique saying they loved my photos and wanted to collab with me. At first, I was excited because the page looked legit. They had posts, “ambassadors,” and comments that made everything seem real. But the purpose of the scam was simple: they wanted money and possibly my personal information. They planned to flatter me into buying something from their website using a “special ambassador discount,” which is already a red flag because actual brands don’t make you pay to promote them. When I clicked the link they sent, the website felt a little sketchy, and after Googling the brand, I found a whole thread of people saying they never got their orders or were charged random extra fees. That’s when I realized it was a scam. Looking back, there were a few ways I could’ve figured it out sooner. I should’ve checked for real reviews outside of Instagram, looked for basic website features like clear return policies, and paid more attention to the fact that their DM sounded way too informal for a professional partnership. Also, if a brand ever asks you to pay up front, that’s usually a sign it’s fake. This experience made me way more cautious about things I see and hear online, and sharing it here will hopefully help someone else avoid falling for the same type of scam.

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