Instagram Verification: How a Paid
You could lose your savings with a single wire transfer. A stranger who seems rich and kind asks you for it. Jay Mazini looked exactly like that kind of stranger. His followers handed their savings over to him. Nobody could have stopped him just by looking for a blue check. Would you wire money to a stranger just because he's verified? By the end, you'll know how to keep your money.
Mazini took at least $8 million from people. And some of that money belonged to his own neighbors.
His real name is Jebara Igbara, but online he called himself Jay Mazini. He posted videos of himself handing cash to strangers. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn confirmed all this in 2024.
Nearly 1 million people followed him online. Nobody stopped to ask who he really was.
Mazini's followers were ordinary people, just like you. They saw a kind man, and they trusted him. Anyone's savings could go the same way.
Looking trustworthy online used to actually mean something.
Before 2022, people on staff checked who got a badge by hand. Then Meta started letting people buy a badge with a subscription. But the blue badge still looks exactly the same.
The checkmark used to mean someone on staff had checked who you were. Now it mostly means you paid with a card.
Meta asks you for a government ID. Meta also wants a video selfie and a payment. A scammer with a real ID can pay and get it too.
ZeroFox says scammers fake money advice more than anything else. A scammer only needs you to believe him for 90 seconds.
If this helps, a like and a subscribe help us keep it coming.
The man who played a generous investor didn't stop at taking money. Mazini admitted he kidnapped someone who might have been a witness.
Fraudsters aimed 2% of their attacks at people's social media accounts. 6 months later, fraudsters were aiming 16% of their attacks there. That means fraudsters went after social accounts 8 times more in 2024. Fraudsters moved right into your feed.
For 13 years, a badge meant someone had checked who you were. Meta sold the new badge, but it still looks the same. Most people still trust the badge the way they used to.
Mazini leaned on the trust of his religious community. His followers believed every bit of his act.
Mazini paid earlier investors with newer investors' money, which is called a Ponzi scheme. Your money just goes to pay the last victim.
AP News covered the Mazini case in 2024. His videos showed him giving money away. His followers sent him money because of those same videos.
If Mazini got a badge, it would only show he was a real person. His face was real, and his ID was real. What he lied about was being a rich, generous investor. Being real and being honest aren't the same.
Never send money just because of how someone's profile looks. Treat a checkmark as decoration, never as proof.
Wait a full day before you send anyone money. Tell a friend about the offer before you do anything. Search the person's name with the word scam after it.
You use a login code to protect your own account. You can't trust a stranger just because he has a badge.
First, he posted the videos of himself giving away cash. Then his followers heard him pitch an investment. Then they sent their money to Mazini. He never needed a hacker for any of it.
Cara Candelario wrote up the full story. You can read more in her CaraComp write-up.
Cara Candelario from the write-up put it plainly. She said the badge proves the ID is real. But it never proves the investor is honest.
Ask your parents if they've seen investment tips online. If your money's already gone, report it at ic3.gov. Tell your family that anyone can buy a badge.
Mazini was sentenced in April 2024. He got 84 months in federal prison. He also has to hand over $10 million.
Your savings were never safe just because of a blue badge. You keep them safe by waiting before you pay.
At dinner, tell your family about Mazini. Agree that nobody sends money without asking first. Write that rule on the fridge tonight.
Your parents could get a pitch like that tomorrow. Set the rule tonight, before anyone pays.
Every day we take one story like this and make it simple. Subscribe and tap the bell. Tomorrow's is free too. See you in today's briefing. If this helps, a like and a subscribe help us keep it coming.
