ReplaviaHelp centre

How do I spot a fake brand collaboration or ambassador DM?

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Be careful with brand DMs that ask you to pay a fee, log in through a link, or decide fast, because real brands do not charge you to collaborate. Replavia does not screen your DMs for scams.

Open Messages from brands →

Getting a brand offer feels great, which is exactly why scammers copy them. Many creators get “ambassador” DMs that are not what they seem.

Warning signs

Slow down if a message does any of these:

  • Asks you to pay. A fee to join, a “starter kit” you must buy, or shipping you must pay first. Real brands do not charge you to work with them.
  • Asks you to log in. A link that wants your Instagram password or a login code. No real brand needs your password.
  • Comes from a lookalike handle. Extra letters, dots, underscores or numbers next to a real brand name. Check the official account from the brand’s own website.
  • Rushes you. “Only today”, “last spot left”, or pressure to decide before you can check.
  • Stays vague. No clear product, no budget, no name of a real person, and a free email address.
  • Offers a commission instead of a fee. “Ambassador” often means you buy the products and earn a discount code.

What to do

  1. Do not click links or share codes until you have checked.
  2. Find the brand’s official website, and contact the brand from there.
  3. Ask for a written brief with the deliverables, the dates and the payment.
  4. If it is a scam, report the account in the Instagram app.

What Replavia does, and does not do

Replavia does not read your DMs to find scams. It does not check whether an account is a fake brand. Please use your own judgement on every offer.

There is one place where Replavia helps. On Pro and Scale, your media kit has an order form for brands. That form runs a bot check from Cloudflare, so fewer automated spam messages get through.

Each message lands in Messages from brands, with the brand name and reply email the sender typed. The bot check stops automated spam. It cannot prove a person is who they say they are. Check the brand the same way before you agree to anything. See How brands order from your media kit.

Good to know

  • No payment for a brand deal passes through Replavia. It takes no commission and holds no money.
  • Scam comments under your posts are a different problem. See Bots keep leaving scam comments.
  • Replavia will never ask for your Instagram password. You connect through Instagram’s own login page.

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