(Update: the scammers posing as American Airlines have been shut down.  You can find the REAL American Airlines on Instagram by searching  for username AmericanAir.)  American has a fairly new presence on the social photo sharing site Instagram, and it seems that scammers are just as quick to embrace new technologies and platforms.

Someone has set up a fake American Airlines Instagram account promising followers a free ticket just for being one of the first 10,000 to follow by Nov. 7. Here’s a look:

You can find the real American Airlines on Instagram as AmericanAir, here’s a look at their info:

Other than attracting followers, I’m not sure what the scammers hope to gain: beyond whatever info is in your profile, no personal information is exchanged when you follow someone.

American isn’t the only airline with a fake Instagram counterpart, Delta and Southwest have fakers too.

According to the Twin Cities Business Journal, the fake Delta account had more than 21,000 subscribers with promises of a free ticket – which is absolutely nuts!  It’s tough enough to get a “free” ticket on Delta with miles! Not sure how anyone fell for that one.

Now if I saw a Delta Instagram account that promised a Free Ticket (with a $350 co-pay, that can’t be used on premium class or international travel, excludes May through April travel, and fees must be charged to Delta branded AMEX card) – that I would believe!

The likelihood is that you’re the mileage and travel expert for your family and circle of friends, so even though you’d never fall for this scam, you should be aware in case they come to you about it.

Last year, people began receiving emails like the one above that was received by blogger and SkyMiles Geek, Rene over at DeltaPoints.

These emails usually come in the form of a fake confirmation for some supposedly “recently purchased tickets” and contain instructions to click a link or open an .EXE attachment in order to view the ticket.

The deception works when the recipient, concerned about receiving a confirmation for a ticket they never purchased, follows the instructions and their computer gets infected with malware.

Here’s a sample posted on AA.com of one of the bogus emails:

From: sales1@acshomeshow.com [mailto:sales1@acshomeshow.com]
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 5:17 PM
To: AMessina
Subject: Re: Your Flight Order N590-5507130

Dear Customer,

FLIGHT ELECTRONIC NUMBER 8532856
DATE & TIME / NOVEMBER 28, 2011, 11:17 PM
ARRIVING: NEW YORK JFK
TOTAL PRICE : 278.02 USD

Please download and print out your ticket here:

http://www.aa.com/flight-nyc/flightno36952281084a

Marie MATTHEWS,
American Airlines

It’s obvious to you and me that it’s a fake email (apparently the scammers are to lazy to even produce any fake graphics) but to others (particularly elderly parents) it might very well seem legit.

If  someone does come to you after they’ve fallen victim to the scam, they should:

• Run a virus check to remove any malware

• Change their AA.com password

• Confirm that the email address on file with AA.com is correct and hasn’t been reset by the scammers

• Contact their bank if they think that finanacial account information may have been exposed

•  Forward a copy of the email, including the header to webmaster@aa.com

You can visit AA.com for more info.

Photo: phishing aa email
Credit: Delta Points on Flickr