Olly eventually agreed to pay the extortionist $50 in cryptocurrency to restore his Instagram account, which had been temporarily disabled by Meta.
Law enforcement agencies advise victims of online extortion not to pay ransoms, warning that doing so helps fund the wider criminal ecosystem.
Olly said he made the payment as a “last resort” because it was faster than going through Meta’s appeals process, which can take several weeks.
However, shortly after he paid the fee, his account received another copyright infringement strike.
“That’s the worst part,” he said.
“You have to pay the person who actively put you through all of that pain, and then it happens again right away.”
Following multiple copyright claims, Olly’s Instagram account was demonetized, preventing him from earning money from his high-performing posts.
“There is no investigation or system to detect abuse,” he said, questioning whether Meta’s copyright reporting process could itself be misused.
Other Instagram users have reported similar experiences involving copyright claims, account restrictions and limited support from Meta.
“Despite Meta claiming to support creators, it was unhelpful throughout the process and forced me to pay a support fee just to communicate with them,” said Abin Tom Sebastian, who runs the Morbid Curiosity account.
Meta charges users £9.99 per month for Instagram verification, which includes access to 24/7 customer support through live chat.
“I lost an important and irreversible brand contract. Unfortunately, the contract went to another creator, and I received no reassurance or support from Meta that something like this would not happen again,” Sebastian said.
Instagram says, external that only the copyright owner or an authorized representative can report copyright infringement. It advises affected users to contact the rights holder directly.
After the BBC shared Olly’s account and the experiences of other users with Meta, the company said it had added extra protection to their accounts to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
Meta said it is working to combat deceptive practices designed to mislead and defraud people and businesses.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk