How Instagram Fails Its Customers
Kelley Troia
Corporate Event Producer | Experiential Strategist | Creating Unforgettable, High-Impact Events in New Orleans & Beyond
Yesterday I received a notification via my Instagram messaging telling me that I was in violation of Instagram's rules and my account was about to be deactivated. There was a link to an objection form which I completed and within seconds, my entire business account that I have cultivated for years, was deleted. POOF.
I spent the better part of the morning trying to find support at Instagram, Meta, or Facebook to assist me with this theft and there is absolutely NO way to contact anyone there. ZERO. They give you no ability to file a claim; no chatbot; no one to call. I am essentially screwed. Their help section is a circlejerk of hell.
Since then, I have experienced 2 additional cyber crimes in which I was extorted for money. One was through a person I was told to contact on Instagram who would help me get my account back - he told me it would cost $100, then he needed $280 more, then $350 more. During these interactions, and as result of my desperation, I reached out to a friend who works in cyber forensics. He sent me a phone number at Instagram to call - so I put the person on Instagram on pause and called the Instagram number.
The Instagram phone number answered "Instagram" and I finally felt the relief that was I speaking with someone at Instagram. An hour + later it began to become abundantly clear that this person was NOT from Instagram either and they too were trying to manipulate me out of my money. They also had me install an app called AnyDesk which gave them direct access to my iPhone.
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For anyone I know who works at Meta, Facebook, and Instagram - SHAME ON YOU. Shame on you for turning your back on your users. By the end of the day yesterday, I was in hysterics as I came to the terrible realization that I truly could not trust anyone. What a frightening feeling.
My only saving grace were the calls I made to my bank and to Apple. Apple set me up with a Genius appointment on the spot. Bravo to their consistently reliable customer service. I was also able to reach someone at Venmo this morning - a real live person - and they too, showed empathy and escalated my issue to their fraud department on the spot. Why Meta doesn't provide that support to their users is really flabbergasting.
If anyone has a suggestion for who I can legitimately reach out to for assistance with this, I'm all ears. Quite frankly I'm downright disgusted with Meta. They provide absolutely NO PROTECTION and I'm now being cyber harassed.
Be careful out there ~ candidly this is quite embarrassing to even admit that I fell for this, but I felt compelled to share because of how frightening this whole instance has been; and I have no idea what the future ramifications will be...
Associate Professor, Chair, Design at Louisiana Tech University
1 年That’s terrible!!!
Founder/Integrative Physician The Remedy Room
1 年Your note could not have come at a more importnet time as we are dealing with a similar story and last night I was tempted to call them an pay. The circle jerk of dead end message is exhausting and spot on. I keep asking myself is this as important as I’m making it. Is having an instagram page that necessary? Thanks Kelly
Freelance Editorial Consultant
1 年It's horrifying. And when you think of all the rules and regulations you have to play by when you open a business, and Meta gets to do what the F ever...I hope this gets resolved quickly, Kelley. Shame on Meta.
Human Resources Executive and Consultant l Servant Leader l Customer Service Centric l Culture Builder l Entrepreneur l Lifelong Adventure Seeker l Zero-G Floater l Building Memories!
1 年This is horrifying and scary. I’m so sorry.
Founder of AMW | Pints, Forks & Friends: Where American Express Intersects with a Dive Bar. | Fixer
1 年Just awful, I’m sure once Meta responds “some day” they can restore