INSTAGRAM was duped into thinking its boss had died when he had his account locked and memorialized after a scammer, who charges US$60 for account-banning services, submitted a false obituary to the app’s support team.

Adam Mosseri had his account, which boasts 1 million followers, “memorialized” when a scammer, who goes by @Syenrai, pretended that the 38-year-old was dead.

Instagram’s memorialization feature allows users to report deceased account holders and in response, the app will block any activity on the account, including log-ins.

The user behind Syenrai, who remained anonymous, claimed responsibility for the September lock on Mosseri’s account.

“I find it ridiculous how Instagram lets such things even happen on their platform in the first place,” the user said, noting just how simple it is to leverage Instagram’s mysterious features.

The user noted that they often get accounts banned or memorialized based on requests from paying customers.

In this case, Syenrai said that they created a fake obituary online before screenshotting the page and replying to Instagram’s email.

Average bans go for about US$60 and “for ordinary users who get memorialized,” restoring their account may “take days or maybe weeks.” However, because Mosseri heads the app, his account was only down for a couple of hours.

An Instagram spokesperson claimed that the photo-sharing app’s teams review all memorialization requests and cross-check images, names, dates of birth and a submitted obituary — but Syenrai has seemingly found cracks in the system. (SD-Agencies)