Experts estimate that at least 100,000 users of the popular photography social network Instagram have fallen victim to a well-crafted scam that promised an increase in likes and followers.
According to Symantec security experts, the criminals developed an application called InstLike, which invited users to voluntarily provide their account credentials in order to increase their followers and likes by purchasing virtual currencies.
The app offered each user 20 free virtual coins/day. Each new like was charged with one coin, while each new follower was charged with 10 coins. When the user used up all the free coins, they had the option to pay to get more coins. Buying 100 coins cost just $1. Users were also encouraged to refer friends to the app, earning an additional 50 free coins for each new sign-up.
According to experts, many Instagram users have reportedly paid for extra likes and followers.
The Android version of the app was available on Google Play from June 9 to October 25, while the iOS version was available for download on the App Store from September 19 to November 7. The apps have now been removed from the Apple and Google stores.
Symantec estimates the number of victims at 100,000, while the actual number may be much higher.
