To Catch a Scammer: Minx Exposes Social Media Scams
- February 09, 2020
- By Minx Couture
- 0 Comments
February 9th | Minx Couture
It's 2020 and we are beyond the information age when it comes to technology. The Internet can be a rewarding space but it is also a dark space filled with predators on a mission.
Being a musician in today's day and age is exciting. Back in the day, the only way you were able to break records was if you "knew a guy" or had connections to the DJ booth in clubs and various venues. Today, we have websites like Soundcloud and Spotify to generate hyperlinks to share across the web.
However, in the age of social media, it is also a breeding ground for wannabe A&R's and Music Consultants where they approach hungry artists with empty opportunities and sometimes threats.
In this article I will break it down for you because sometimes I think podcasting isn't ENOUGH to get my message out.
TYPES OF SCAMS.
Let's start with
INSTAGRAM or INSTASCAM!
I've been an Instagram member since its inception in 2010. With all of the changes, came the obvious obsession of not only going viral but getting hundreds and thousands of followers no matter your niche or actual popularity.
But the major issue came on board when its users began buying followers. Robots became a disease to the app and ultimately a cancer. Hashtags that were used began inviting targeting bots to automatically like and comment on posts making the app to appear cluttered and unkempt.
NICE POST FAM! FOLLOW BACK
MY PRODUCER THINKS YOUR STYLE COMPLIMENTS THEIR STYLE. DM ME!
DM ME FOR PROMO!
NICE PHOTO! DM ME FOR GRAPHICS!We have all been exposed to this bullshit and I think we can all agree that Instagram has done absolutely nothing to resolves these issues. But now we have more of a problem when it comes to Insta.
These people on Instagram are scammers . They scammed me for $100. Granted it’s not a lot but it’s not ok for these people to scam people out of money . Do not buy from these people you see them on Instagram pic.twitter.com/sUAxF4zyAZ— Lashes By Krysty (@krystinahvermor) February 2, 2020
Anyone know what the WhatsApp scam is going around on Instagram...?— Amber (@AmberD1116) February 8, 2020
Seems like every other day I have some random person message me and chat for a couple min, then tell me I’m pretty and ask if I have WhatsApp..? pic.twitter.com/96rgianACp
What do u do for fake digital influencer who buy 2k Of fake followers every week and scam people and brand pretending....? @bylauralayton pic.twitter.com/248f6SCEGe— Paris (@Paris91272287) February 8, 2020
So today, I recommend that everyone uses www.socialblade.com to check accounts from Youtube to Instagram. Twitch even. Alot of these influencers are not really poppin. At least you can have those analytics available to you for leverage for them to BACK OFF.
This also goes for graphic designers aka Mixtape art bots who use common templates on FREE sites that you can design yourself. They are not using any glamorous websites or tools from college. Just google search it. Nothing is amazing about their work and you can make yourself a cartoon for $4.99.
Twitter Scams.
Twitter is such an amazing app to connect with those who are like minded. I can tell you that personally I generate most of my honest business via Twitter. I have met some amazing artists and producers, promoters and playlist curators. But there are tons of scams on there, and I am suprised that most people don't use that handy dandy search tool.
For example:
Is your friend! Or I recommend searching the username handle and the word SCAM or SCAMMER to research in REAL TIME who's talking about this person. I call this live testimonials because if 30 people say the sky is purple orange and a hippo is dancing in a blue dress, then 9 times out of 10, the sky IS purple orange and a hippo is dancing in a blue dress.
One of the MAJOR scams on both Instagram and Twitter are large accounts (mostly brought followers) are offering to SELL you their page for $30 or $50. The usual reasons behind these sales are the following:
I'm taking a long break from social media.
I had a death in my family and I need to get off social media.
I'm shutting down my business and don't need this account.Whatever the reason, its certainly a BULLSHIT reason, and unless it is someone you know, I wouldn't even think about purchasing.
I actually got scammed by this a few months ago, an instagram friend of mine (aka an internet pal, or I thought was an internet pal) scammed me. Told me they no longer wanted to be an artist and felt that since I was a growing company, that I would have more use of it.
I felt comfort in doing business with this person, where I discussed the terms and conditions. He informed me that as soon as I sent him the payment (in which I used PAYPAL) He would turn over the login information and email address information associated with the account.
As soon as the money hit his account, I was immediately BLOCKED. My feelings of HURT turned to immediate anger and I disputed this until I was ultimately refunded. This said person, then hit me up to let me know his account was HACKED which was complete and utter BULLSHIT because the paypal was under his name and email address and I also messaged him from a few of my other accounts where he stated that the page was still for sale.
So trust me, I know how it feels to get scammed. So don't fall for it. Not even from an INTERNET friend. They cannot be completely trusted either and it's sad to say.
Oh you thought I wasn't going to drop his name? NAH. Here it is:
DAKOTA WILLIAMS
dakotawilliams3016@gmail.com
Next:
So what did we learn so far:
Don't buy accounts.
Don't do business in the DMS.
There are no LEGIT plays or followers you can buy.
Last but not least
Playlist Scams:
You should NEVER and I mean NEVER pay to be added to a playlist online. Let me REPEAT. You should NEVER PAY TO BE ADDED TO A PLAYLIST ONLINE.
I cannot stress this enough. Playlist curators that charge to be placed are not LEGIT curators. And these are the signs:
- They initiate conversation in the DM's making you feel like you made the hottest song ever since sliced bread. These are what I like to call head boosters because they most likely never even heard your music.
- They hit you with pricing regarding a certain amount of streams that you can receive when that is not TRUE. NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE A NUMBER OF STREAMS especially if we are talking about ORGANIC. You want a jump in numbers, then you need to network better because this is IMPOSSIBLE to go viral that way and you can be DROPPED from your distribution from buying or what they like to call "PROMOTING"
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| My screenshot on my PC from the portals my playlists are featured in. |
Stop paying for spots that won't get you streams!!!
Here my rant here:
They cannot take us all down if we all keep comparing and sharing notes. To those of you who are artists or people in this business...please do not hesitate to email me. If you are interested in becoming a patreon member, please signup here so that you can be up to date on the various services that you can benefit from.
Also, if you are an artist, please check out Stationhead and sign up (apple users right now) and submit your music to people who can ACTUALLY playlist your songs on live radio. I am a brand ambassador.
Other links to check out:
Centralized.me which I work with the owner directly to help you stay on track as an artist without management.
Check out Seekmetrics the BEST tool to measure hashtags and create strings that WORK on IG and Twitter.
Check out Somiibo to get part of dope engagement groups (that work) and as well as the BEST IG tool to grow your followers organically.
I appreciate you taking the time out! Please share!
