I checked my Instagram “Message Requests” folder this morning. It was a mistake.
Usually, I ignore it. But today, I looked. It was a graveyard of broken English and obvious lies.
-
“Urgent! Your account will be deleted in 24 hours. Click here.” (Fake Meta Support).
-
“Do you want to be a brand ambassador for our jewelry?” (I am a 30-year-old man who has never worn a necklace in his life).
-
“Hiiiii handsome.” (A bot with zero followers).
It feels like it’s getting worse, doesn’t it? In 2020, I got maybe one spam message a week. In 2026, it feels like I am fighting off a swarm of digital mosquitoes every time I open my phone.
You start to wonder: Did I do something wrong? Did I click a bad link? Is my phone hacked? Why do they know my name?
If you are tired of deleting “Shein Gift Card” tags and blocking “Crypto Gurus,” here is the deep dive into why you are a target and how to make yourself invisible to the bots.
Reason 1: You Are “Leaking” Data (And You Don’t Know It)
This is the scary part. You probably didn’t do anything “wrong” recently. But remember that random “Which Harry Potter House Are You?” quiz you took on Facebook in 2016? Or that food delivery app you signed up for in 2019 that went out of business?
They sold your data. Or they got hacked. There are massive databases on the dark web (with cool names like the “Collection #1” breach) that contain billions of emails and phone numbers. Scammers buy these lists for pennies. They load your number into a bot, and the bot automatically searches for that number on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Telegram.
The Result: If your phone number is linked to your Instagram, and your number was in a leak… the bots find you. It’s not personal. It’s automated. You are just Row #4,928,102 in a spreadsheet.
Reason 2: The “Comment Bait” Trap
Have you ever commented on a post by a big celebrity? Maybe Kim Kardashian posted a photo, and you commented “Cute!” or a fire emoji.
You just painted a target on your back. Scraper bots monitor the comments of viral posts. They treat the comment section like a menu. “Oh, look at these 5,000 active users who just commented 1 minute ago. They are online right now. Let’s DM them all.”
The second you engage with a public, viral account, you are signaling to the bot network: “I am a real human, and I am active.” Suddenly, your DMs blow up. (This is why I stopped commenting on anything except my friends’ posts. It’s sad, but it keeps the trash out).
Reason 3: The “Tagging” Epidemic
This is the most annoying one. You wake up. You have a notification: “You were tagged in a photo.” You look. It’s a photo of an iPhone 16 Pro Max with the caption: “CONGRATS! YOU WON!” And you are tagged alongside 49 other random people.
Why? Because tagging works. It bypasses the spam filters. If a bot sends you a DM, Instagram might block it. But if they tag you in a photo, it shows up in your notifications instantly. It forces you to look. It’s a loophole in the code, and Meta is surprisingly slow at fixing it.
The Tangent (My Conspiracy Theory)
(Sometimes I wonder if the social media platforms secretly like the bots. Think about it. If they deleted all the bots, their “Active User” numbers would drop by like 20%. And then their stock price would crash. So maybe they do the bare minimum to keep us happy, but not enough to actually solve the problem. Just a thought. I have no proof, don’t sue me, Mark Zuckerberg).
How to Stop It (The “Fortress” Strategy)
Okay, enough complaining. How do we fix it? You can’t scrub your data from the dark web (it’s too late for that). But you can lock your doors.
1. The “Hidden Words” Shield (Instagram) This is the best feature nobody uses.
-
Go to Settings > Privacy > Hidden Words.
-
Turn on “Hide Message Requests.”
-
Add Custom Words: Add words like “Crypto,” “Forex,” “Ambassador,” “Investment,” “Shein,” “iPhone.”
Now, if a bot sends you a message containing any of those words, it vanishes. You never see it. It goes straight to a hidden folder that you never have to check.
2. Stop the Tags (The Sanity Saver) You need to stop strangers from tagging you.
-
Instagram: Settings > Tags and Mentions > Allow tags from “People you follow” (or “No One”).
-
Facebook: Settings > Profile and Tagging > Review posts you’re tagged in.
Once you change this setting, the “You Won an iPhone” scams hit a brick wall. They try to tag you, and the app says “Nope.” It is incredibly satisfying.
3. The “Two-Tap” Block Rule When you do get a spam message, do not just delete it. Report it. I know, it feels useless. But it helps the algorithm learn.
-
Long press the message.
-
Tap Report.
-
Select Spam.
-
Then Block.
Crucial Step: When you block them, Instagram will ask: “Block [User] and any new accounts they may create?” SAY YES. This bans their IP address (or device ID). So when they try to make “SpamBot_V2” five minutes later, they are already pre-blocked.
4. Remove Your Phone Number (If You Can)
If you are getting SMS spam or WhatsApp spam, it’s because your number is public somewhere. Check your Facebook “About” section. Is your phone number visible to “Friends”? Or “Public”? Hide it. Set it to “Only Me.” Better yet, remove it entirely and just use an Email for recovery. The less your number is connected to your profile, the harder it is for the scraper bots to connect the dots.
The Bottom Line
The internet is a messy place. It’s basically a digital city, and like any big city, there are going to be people trying to hand you flyers for sketchy nightclubs.
You can’t stop them from printing the flyers. But you can lock your mailbox. Adjust those privacy settings today. Take 5 minutes. And please, for the love of everything holy, do not click the link that says you won a $750 Shein Gift Card. You didn’t win. You just lost.
Stay safe.
