Instagram Influencer Marketplace Scam: Letter of Demand (Australia)
Paid an Instagram seller for an item that never arrived? The written demand goes to your own bank, asking it to reimburse you; if the bank refuses, the next step is a complaint to AFCA.
Instagram has quietly become a marketplace — and a scam vector. Influencers and small accounts sell pre-loved goods, drop-shipped products and “exclusive releases” via DM, often with bank-transfer-only payment. When the goods don’t arrive and you’re blocked, what then?
You have two ways to deal with this:One of them is done for you.
Do it yourself
Free — if you get it right
Hours of research
Easy to cite the wrong law
No deadline, no teeth
Done for you
Claim Done
$97 flat. That is it.
Ready in about 5 minutes
Cites the law for your state
You review it first · Nothing is sent to anyone else
If the seller has any Australian footprint — a registered business, an ABN, a public real name, an Australian bank account — you have the standard armoury: contract, the Australian Consumer Law, and common-law deceit. Many Instagram sellers operate as undeclared businesses; that doesn’t shield them from the ACL where they sell repeatedly.
Report the account to Meta for takedown, file with Scamwatch, and lodge a ReportCyber complaint.
Realistic outcomes
Burner accounts run from overseas with mule bank accounts are effectively untouchable. But many Instagram sellers are real Australians using their real first names, real bank details and real shipping addresses — recoverable. A Letter of Demand to a real person puts your claim in writing with a deadline.
Free · 30 seconds
Ready to put it in writing?
Answer 3 quick questions to check you have the details your document needs, and see your next step.
1. Who is this about?
Give us a name — even a first name or business name is fine.
2. How much is at stake?
3. Do you have it in writing?
Your result is ready. Where should we send it?
That email does not look right.
We email you the result and your next step so you can come back to it. No spam, no list — unsubscribe from the link in any email.
Your answers are carried across — you will not have to type them again. You read and confirm it before it is final. Nothing is sent to anyone else. No card needed to start.
The document approach
The written demand goes to your own bank, not the Instagram seller. It attaches the DMs, the listing screenshots and the payment evidence, says when you reported the scam, and asks the bank to reimburse you within 30 days, citing its scam obligations. If the bank refuses or does not respond in time, you lodge the AFCA complaint.
Scam Recovery Letter — $97You review it first · Nothing is sent to anyone else · Ready in about 5 min
142 users in the last 24 hours
Putting it in writing — properly — is what turns a complaint into a claim.
I'll draft your Scam Recovery Letter right now. Which bank did the money go out from?
No card needed to start · Type a name and hit send
What Claim Done delivers
For a flat fee, Claim Done drafts a written demand to your own bank to reimburse you, citing its scam obligations (the ePayments Code, the Banking Code of Practice and, where it applies, the Scams Prevention Framework), plus an AFCA complaint if the bank refuses. If the seller is an identifiable Australian, a Letter of Demand to them is a separate option.
What to expect after
Send the letter. Continue the platform report and bank recall. If your bank refuses to reimburse you, lodge the AFCA complaint.
Get your Scam Recovery Letter. Done in about 5 minutes.
If you have not told your bank yet, phone its fraud line now and ask it to stop or recall the payment. Then send the written demand.
I can draft your Scam Recovery Letter right now. A few quick questions, $97 flat, ready in about 5 minutes. You read and confirm it before it is final. Nothing is sent to anyone else.