My Instagram Was Hacked; A Wake Up Call From First Hand Experience.

Last Saturday I was sitting on the couch and a message came through stating that a computer had accessed my Instagram Account

So as soon as I see this, An alert states that my email address has been changed

So I click, secure you account here and it states no users found. This means my name and instagram have been stolen.

I take to the internet and found an article from Fun Life Crisis about the instagram hacking that happened to them and think back to how my account was compromised…..

I remember earlier in the day getting a collaboration offer and filling out basic information, then clicking to authenticate instagram for analytics. Yep…mistake! The link was a fake instagram page (it looked real and later when I back, realized it was when my information was stolen- see below)

A couple hours later I receive an email and a follow up stating that I need to pay $315

Within an hour another email came (same person) but the change of person shows instagram and it is not really instagram.

As I cannot log into instagram, I go to my other instagram account to see @trendyheidi and see this….

When you type in your username or phone or anything…

This causes immense panic – so you go to instagram help and submit a ticket.

Instagram did send a message about taking a picture of you with a code they send.

For me, I received a message back stating the information did not match. This is not surprising since the hacker changed my email, birthday, And all identifiable information.

I responded To instagram but got nothing back. I posted on my other account and this is where it gets creepy. I had two people message me about a guy who could help. (Support@instagram.com no longer works)

Whenever I consider collaboration, I do look at the instagram accounts (which this one has and a lot of followers and responses) so again, nothing that stood out. When it asked to authorize instagram to check analytics – I have done this with bigger platforms and this is when my account was stolen. The person below is the person who lied and offered to help but took my money – more on this below.

This is the person I chose after getting messages to my account like below (Both of these are fake accounts and were the ones that duped me)

As I stated, this is where it gets creepy…this Emily was following my other page (not the one hacked) for at least 6 months and responded on occasion. Like any social media messaging, this person had interactions with me and did not just appear to save the day. See how creepy this is??

So here is where I am a little embarrassed- this guy Tyler said no money then asked for some money for telecommunication card because you cannot hack in the US and his friend would do it- so I bought Steam Cards, then he mentioned his friend needed a special Ss7 card and I paid his friend, and then another Steam Card, and then supposedly had the account and did want compensation through bitcoin. So all of this was around $500 – yes I got duped and yes, I feel a little dumb, BUT there are good people out there but these two were not good people. (I am out the money but lessons learned) The accounts changed after I was duped to almost no information and after that, another person reached out (I suspect the hacker is the same person who had these accounts and did get my $500 dollars) I knew My limit going in was $500 and it is a lot of money but I knew there was a possibility I would be duped….and yes, I was.

In the meantime I kept messaging instagram and wrote the CEO trying to get a response.

HOPE- so I have done giveaways with a person and she referred to a person and the person she referred me to- also had a hacked account that was gotten back so I reached out to her on the process. The good thing is I knew she was real as I did giveaways with her in the past and trusted these two people!

She handed along the information and I reached out Juan – I let him Know I was already duped and not giving any money til insta was back with me. Juan helped me get my account and I can honestly say that without him I would still not have my account.

Juan is amazing and it did cost some money to get the account back, but he was trustworthy and helped me through the process. If you are hacked, click the link above and tell him @trendyheidi sent you – he will give you a good deal ❤️

So after all of this….I am relieved, a bit frustrated, but thankful. I am thankful no one was hurt and my instagram was returned. I also learned a lot about hackers and the games they play.

Tips When Your Account Is Stolen…

1. Read blog posts

2. Secure the account if you can (change password, email password)

3. Reach Out to Instagram immediately providing detailed information

4. Reach out on Facebook through ads

5. Take a clear pic when instagram messages you back

6. Identify how it happened

7. Try to solve on your own but if not, seek help

8. Find reputable person to help

9. When you get the account back – change passwords

10. Figure out how not to make the same mistake

So…the question is….what am I doing now?