Instagram influencers who have seen their accounts hacked and their personal information exposed say they were forced to hire hackers themselves to recover their profiles.
Several influencers told VICE Motherboard that Instagram 's process for regaining control of their accounts is so slow and difficult that they've been forced to find alternative means to get their profiles back. Despite repeated calls and emails to Instagram for help, influencers whose accounts have been hacked say they're only receiving automated emails that offer little help.
Social media influencers have turned their online activities into lucrative full-time jobs, promoting products from advertisers to tens of thousands of followers. These accounts, on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, have become a primary means of livelihood for them, and hackers have taken notice.
“I suffered emotional damage,” influencer Cassie Gallegos wrote in a blog post. “I had worked so hard to become an influencer, to build the life I wanted to live, I had partnerships with Hotels.com, PierHouse Key West, Dick's Sporting Goods, Living Proof. They were gone. All my work was gone.”
According to Motherboard's report, many hackers gain access to influencer accounts by posing as brands interested in sponsorship or advertising. Using emails containing phishing links, hackers gain access to the influencer's Instagram and change the email and password, which then locks out the legitimate account holder.
But when influencers reached out to Instagram to get their accounts back, the platform seemed inadequate. Instagram’s policies state that without an account’s email and password, users must go through a verification process to ensure that the user is actually the account owner. The process involves taking a selfie with a code that Instagram sends directly to them, written on a piece of paper.
Despite taking the appropriate steps, those affected by the hack told Motherboard that their efforts were unsuccessful. One influencer said in a blog post that she only regained control of her account after fans and others pressured Instagram.
So, users have turned to “third-party social media experts” and “white-hat hackers” to help them recover their accounts. One such expert told Motherboard that he knows tricks to speed up the process of recovering an account. Another method is to identify the person behind the hack and then hack that person in order to get the account back.
“We know that losing access to your account can be an unpleasant experience,” an Instagram spokesperson said in a statement. “We have implemented sophisticated measures to stop hackers before they gain access to accounts, as well as measures to help people recover their accounts.”.
