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How to Spot a Fake Brand Deal on Instagram (India, 2026)

By Vedant Padmawar, Founder, Hypee·Published ·5 min read

A brand deal is fake if it asks you to pay anything, comes from a big brand's name on a personal Gmail or a new page, pushes you to recruit people or buy stock, or rushes you to decide. Real brands never charge creators. Before you agree, check the brand's official website and handle, get the deal in writing, and don't share OTPs, passwords or bank logins.

The red flags

  • • Any fee: registration, "onboarding", a starter kit, a refundable deposit or a course.
  • • A famous brand on a free email (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) or a page with few posts and no blue tick.
  • • "Earn from home", reselling, distributor or recruitment offers dressed up as a collaboration.
  • • Pay to grow: someone paying you to grow their page or follow accounts, not to promote a product.
  • • Pressure: "offer ends today", "limited slots", or a refusal to put terms in writing.
  • • Requests for OTPs, passwords, UPI PINs or screen sharing — never share these with anyone.
  • • A cheque or transfer for more than agreed, followed by "please refund the extra".

How to check a brand before you agree

  • • Open the brand's official website yourself and find its real Instagram handle there.
  • • Check that the email domain matches the website (name@brand.com, not brand.official@gmail.com).
  • • Look at who the brand has worked with: tagged posts from real creators.
  • • Ask for the deal in writing: deliverables, dates, fee or product value, usage rights.
  • • Search the brand name with "scam" or "review" before you commit.

If you've been scammed

Stop replying and don't send more money. In India, report cyber fraud on the national helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in, tell your bank immediately if money left your account, and report the profile to Instagram.

How Hypee screens campaigns

On Hypee, new campaigns are checked before creators see them. A campaign is held for a person at Hypee to review if it uses a famous brand's name from a personal email or an unrelated website, asks for registration fees or pushes an earn-money scheme, recruits people, or pays creators to grow someone's page. Held campaigns can't be applied to until they're cleared. Brands also never charge creators on Hypee, and brands pay creators directly.

Brand deals for small creators →Is a barter deal fair? →

Sources

  1. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (Government of India)
  2. MHA — Rajya Sabha answer on the 1930 financial-fraud helpline and the reporting portal

Get discovered by brands on Hypee

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FAQ

 

Do real brands ask influencers to pay a registration fee?

No. A real brand pays you or sends you a product. Any fee, deposit, starter kit or course to "unlock" a collaboration is a sign of a scam.

How do I know if a brand collaboration is genuine?

Find the brand's official website yourself, check that the email domain matches it, look at real creators it has worked with, and get deliverables and payment in writing before you start.

Where do I report an influencer scam in India?

Call the national cyber fraud helpline 1930 or file a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in, contact your bank immediately if money was taken, and report the account to Instagram.