Beware these six sophisticated scams targeting influencers

Business

As influencer marketing continues to grow as a multi-billion dollar industry, scammers are developing increasingly sophisticated methods to target content creators.

The financial opportunities in this space have attracted not just legitimate brands, but also those seeking to exploit influencers through elaborate schemes. We’re seeing a concerning rise in targeted scams designed specifically for influencers. These scams are becoming harder to spot as they’re tailored to mimic legitimate business practices in the influencer world. 

Six sophisticated scams targeting influencers in 2025

With over a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry, Mark Baldwin, founder of Baldwin Digital, has tracked the evolution of these scams and compiled a guide to help influencers identify and avoid the most common threats they face in 2025.

1) Advanced payment reversal scams

These scams begin with seemingly legitimate collaboration offers. Scammers pose as established brands, offering attractive payment terms for sponsored content.

After sending initial payments (often through PayPal or similar platforms), they request partial refunds for ‘administrative errors.’ Once the influencer returns a portion of the money, the scammers dispute the original transaction, reversing the entire payment while keeping the refund.

Always verify brand partnerships through official channels. Legitimate companies rarely make payment errors, and when they do, they have proper accounting processes to resolve them without requesting direct refunds from influencers. 

2) Fake verification services

With platform verification becoming increasingly valuable for monetisation opportunities, scammers are capitalizing by offering guaranteed verification services for a fee. They create convincing websites mimicking official platform interfaces and request login credentials to  begin the verification process. 

No platform sells verification directly. Verification is granted based on specific criteria like notability and authenticity. Anyone offering guaranteed verification for payment is almost certainly running a scam designed to steal your account credentials. 

3) Follower farm entrapment

This sophisticated scheme begins with scammers offering influencers ‘engagement groups’ that promise to boost their metrics. After joining these groups, influencers find their accounts connected to networks of fake followers and bots. Scammers then threaten to report the influencer to the platform for violating terms of service unless they pay a  removal fee. 

Legitimate engagement groups focus on real interaction between actual creators. If someone approaches you with promises of dramatic follower or engagement increases, be extremely cautious. Once your account is linked to bot networks, your reputation and standing with platforms can be severely damaged. 

4) AI voice and image impersonation

Using advanced AI technology, scammers are creating convincing voice and image replicas of influencers to approach brands or fans. These deepfakes request money transfers, gift cards, or sensitive information while perfectly mimicking the influencer’s appearance and speech patterns.

Establish verification protocols with your business partners and management team. This might include video calls with specific verification phrases or other authentication methods that can’t be easily replicated by AI. 

5) Contract exploitation

Scammers present influencers with legitimate-looking collaboration contracts that contain hidden clauses granting them extensive rights to the influencer’s content, image, or even account access. These contracts often include vague language about ‘promotional rights’ that actually permit the scammer to use the influencer’s likeness for other marketing purposes.

Always have contracts reviewed by a legal professional familiar with digital content rights. The investment in proper legal review is minimal compared to the potential damage of signing away your rights or access to your platforms. 

6) Data mining collaboration apps

New ‘collaboration platforms’ claim to connect influencers with brands but actually function as sophisticated data collection operations. These apps request extensive permissions to  analyse your audience  while actually harvesting personal data, content, and audience information for sale to third parties.

Research any new platform thoroughly before granting it access to your accounts. Check reviews from other established creators and verify the company’s legitimacy through their business registration and privacy policy. 

How influencers can protect themselves

All legitimate business partnerships should follow standard professional practices. Baldwin recommends these key protective measures for all influencers:

1. Verify all brand partnerships through official email addresses and company websites before engaging.
2. Document all agreements in writing, with clear deliverables and payment terms defined.
3. Use secure payment methods that offer protection, like contracts with escrow services for larger deals.
4. Establish a verification system with regular contacts to prevent impersonation attempts.
5. Install two-factor authentication on all accounts and use unique, strong passwords.
6. Regularly monitor your analytics for unusual patterns that might indicate bot activity.

These scams exploit the unique business model of influencer marketing

What makes these scams particularly dangerous is how they exploit the unique business model of influencer marketing. Unlike traditional employment, influencers often work with numerous new partners simultaneously, making it difficult to thoroughly vet each opportunity. The informal nature of many collaborations also creates vulnerabilities that scammers are quick to exploit.

The most important protection is a healthy scepticism. If a deal seems unusually generous or a process uncommonly urgent, take that as a warning sign. Legitimate brands understand the need for proper vetting and contractual protection. As influencer marketing matures as an industry, we need to establish stronger standards for verification and business practices that can help protect creators from these increasingly sophisticated scams.

Baldwin Digital is a leading web design and digital marketing agency. The company offers a comprehensive range of services, including web design, search engine optimisation (SEO), Google Ads management, social media management, SEO copywriting, web hosting, and logo design.

Founded by Mark Baldwin, the agency specialises in helping businesses establish effective digital presences and marketing strategies across multiple platforms.