People Are Paying £5000 On The Black Market To Be Verified On Instagram

For anyone who takes the business of Instagram very seriously, a report has recently surfaced claiming that some of those blue ticks you see on certain profiles have been bought and paid for. And the price isn't exactly what anyone would call a snip. 

Let's all get checking out an update from MTV News...

Users of the App who are keen to make a living out of their #spon posts and/or people who live and breathe for the prestige of social-media verification have been paying upwards of £5000 to get that snazzy blue tick decorating their profile. 

The reports were first published in Mashable, where a middleman claimed that the murky world of verifcation is a lot darker than first expected. "It all comes down to money and who you know," the source said. 

"It's sad, but it's kind of how life is, you know? I've sold verifications anywhere from $1,500 to $7,000 [£5,305]."

In general, Instagram workers usually charge around $1,200 for the blue tick with the middleman then adding his/her cut on top of that figure. As you can imagine, exact figures are pretty hard to predict.

Those fancy blue ticks are considered to be more presitgious than Facebook or Twitter verifications due to the fact that there's no application process for being granted the honour. 

Would you pay £5000 for an Insta blue tick? Let us know with a tweet @MTVUK.