Is this account alert from Instagram a scam?

Genuine messages from Instagram link to instagram.com. Treat a link to any other address as a warning sign.

• Instagram says it won't send you direct messages about your account in the Instagram app, and that you can view official Instagram emails sent within the last 14 days in your Instagram settings
• To check an account notice, open the Instagram app yourself and look in your settings; Instagram says that if you get a suspicious message claiming to be from Instagram, you should first check in your Instagram settings to see whether it came from Instagram
• A copyright-claim or policy-violation message that arrives as a DM or link is a reason to check inside the app yourself, whatever it says
• Instagram says not to trust messages demanding money, offering gifts or threatening to delete or ban your Instagram account
• Instagram says that if you get a suspicious email, text or social media message claiming to be from Instagram, you shouldn't click any links or attachments

What a genuine Instagram contact shouldn't do

• Send you a direct message about your account in the Instagram app; Instagram says it won't, and says you can view official Instagram emails sent within the last 14 days in your Instagram settings
• Ask you to click a link in a text or message; Instagram says that if you get a suspicious email, text or social media message claiming to be from Instagram, you shouldn't click any links or attachments
• Ask for your password, two-factor code or credit-card details under any pretext
• Push you to log in through an external link to avoid deletion; no legitimate platform makes account survival a race against a countdown

• Scammers send Instagram-style DMs claiming your post or reel has breached copyright and directing you to an external site to 'review the claim'.
• Messages pretend to be from Instagram Support and contain a shortened or misspelt domain urging you to log in to avoid account deletion.
• Fraudsters impersonate brand partners or verified accounts and ask you to 'confirm your business profile' on a fake login page.
• Scam DMs warn that your account will be suspended unless you verify your identity on a lookalike domain such as instagram-secure-review[.]example.

• The message arrives as a DM rather than an in-app notification or email to your registered address.
• It contains any link outside instagram.com and urges immediate action to prevent account loss.
• The sender uses a display name like 'Instagram Help' or 'Meta Support' that you did not previously interact with.
• Grammar or spelling errors appear in an official-looking copyright or security warning.
• The message asks for your password, two-factor code or credit-card details under any pretext.

These composed examples show how scams impersonating Instagram typically read, with the tells that give each one away. Compare them against anything you've received.

Instagram's real website is instagram.com and the official app is the Instagram app. Reach Instagram through those channels, never through the details inside a message you're unsure about.

1. 1Don't tap the link or reply to the DM
2. 2Open the Instagram app yourself and check your settings; Instagram says you can view official Instagram emails sent within the last 14 days in your Instagram settings
3. 3If you want help, type instagram.com/help into your browser yourself to reach the official help centre
4. 4Report the DM as spam inside Instagram so the sending account can be actioned

Clicked the link, paid, or shared details? Act now. The first hour matters more than anything else you do later.

1. 1If you typed your password on a fake page, change it straight away from the Instagram app or by typing instagram.com yourself, and change it anywhere else you reused it
2. 2Turn on two-factor authentication so a stolen password alone is not enough to take the account
3. 3If you gave card details, call your bank to block the card and dispute any charges
4. 4If you shared identity documents, contact IDCARE (idcare.org) for free identity support
5. 5Report the scam to Scamwatch and ReportCyber using the links below, and forward any related scam SMS to 7226

Received — or fell for — a message impersonating Instagram? Report it. It helps authorities and carriers shut the campaign down for everyone who gets the next one.

• Scamwatch — Report the scam to the ACCC's national scam service.
• ReportCyber — Report cybercrime and financial loss to the police.
• ACMA — Complain about scam texts and spam SMS, email or calls.
• Forward to 7226 (SCAM) — Forward the scam SMS to short code 7226 so carriers can block the source.
• IDCARE — Free identity and cyber support if your details were taken.

The current wave of Instagram impersonation is built around the account itself as the prize. Copyright-strike DMs, 'Meta Support' warnings and fake brand-ambassador offers all funnel to the same place: a counterfeit login page. Once a scammer holds an account, they flip it into a tool, running giveaway and investment scams on the victim's followers, which is why creators and small businesses are targeted hardest. The constants are a DM instead of an in-app notice, a link outside instagram.com, and a deadline. The habit that beats them: treat every account warning that arrives by DM as fake, and check Settings > Security inside the app yourself.

• Social media scams (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
• Account or identity takeover scams (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
• Where to report a scam (Scamwatch (National Anti-Scam Centre))
• Avoid getting scammed on Instagram (Instagram Help Centre (Meta))
• Protect yourself from phishing on Instagram (Instagram Help Centre (Meta))