[imagesource: Instagram / @rkoi]

Nobody likes dollar bills, bling watches, and shiny diamonds being shoved in their faces on social media.

There’s even an official word for the phenomenon – Instabragging, which Urban Dictionary defines as the “immediate posting of self-congratulatory photos on Instagram with the sole intention of inspiring jealousy among followers.”

Instabragging definitely evokes a strong reaction in me, but I am not open to being introspective and figuring out whether it is jealousy or disgust that I am feeling.

Other followers out there don’t just react inwardly when they see these expensive things being flaunted willy-nilly, though.

The crime of using social media to track and target rich people, who show off their gains on Instagram with little regard for the consequences, has really skyrocketed in recent years.

You might remember Kim Kardashian being the target of such a crime in Paris back in 2016.

In the city for Fashion Week, she, along with the paparazzi, was documenting absolutely everything and showing off her expensive ring in the process. Then, a couple of thieves found an opportunity to get the ring from her and went with it.

That was just one case, but there are so many more, per Luxury Launches.

In Milan, a gang called the ‘acrobat thieves’ have been looting Instagram influencers ’til the cows come home.

The gang uses Instagram to spy on their target’s locations, movements, and belongings until they make their move.

In November 2020, the apartment of Moroccan footballer Achraf Hakimi was broken into by the acrobat thieves who stole several of his watches:

 

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A post shared by Achraf Hakimi (@achrafhakimi)

Also in the gang’s sights at one point was Eleonora Incardona, an Italian social media star with more than 500 000 followers on Instagram:

 

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A post shared by Eleonora Incardona (@eleonoraincardona)

The thieves watched as she made an Instagram video announcement that everyone, including her pet chihuahua, Oliver, had left her home.

They then scaled the walls and made off with nine designer handbags and clothing items from the home. Luckily for Incardona, the police managed to retrieve most of the looted goods.

A similar thing happened to Giulia Diletta Leotta, a 28-year-old Italian television presenter, who was out to lunch according to her Instagram Stories, allowing the thieves to take valuables worth more than $180 000:

 

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A post shared by 🌸Diletta Leotta🌸 (@dilettaleotta)

This was apparently the gang’s last spell before getting arrested:

According to Mundo Deportivo, “eight watches, including some Rolex, several jewels and cash that she had in a safe” were taken from the property.

The video surveillance cameras filmed the entire sequence outside the building, and the Milan police arrested the gang of five in June 2020.

Other thieves are brazen enough (and quite frankly, dimwitted, too) to post videos of their crime on social media and tag their victims.

This happened to Troy Williams, AKA Candyman 2.0, an influencer on Australia’s Gold Coast.

His turquoise Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe, which retails for around R3 million, was ransacked by some young thieves who filmed the whole crime and tagged Williams’ Instagram account.

He has so many cars, the thieves must have had a hard time choosing one:

 

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A post shared by Troy Williams (@troycandy)

Williams apparently didn’t even need the help of the police in this case, and just used his followers’ intel to get everything back.

But not before having a strong word with the thieves’ parents.

Still, it might be worth thinking twice before showing off your riches on social media, and keeping everyone abreast of your every move.

[source:luxurylaunches]