Are you on Instagram? It’s a big social media site with over a billion users. But because it’s so popular, it’s also a major target for hackers. Many times, it’s not just the account owner who gets hurt. Their friends can be victims, too, of internet scams and hacked accounts.
Did you know that in 2023, over a million social media accounts were hacked? And guess what? Around 85% of them were Instagram accounts! Hackers don’t just mess with your account. They can steal your identity or ruin your reputation. Hackers can cost you big time if you’re a business or an influencer!
How Can You Tell If Your Instagram is Hacked?
Someone may hack your Instagram password if it no longer works. Sometimes, hackers observe without altering the password, which makes detection challenging. Look for these symptoms of a hack:
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- Loss of Followers or Engagement: Hackers may alter your content or block followers to produce a sudden drop in your follower count or engagement metrics.
- Login problems: Cybercriminals quickly strike, often changing your account information to prevent access. Even with the correct login information, if you cannot access your Instagram account, it may indicate that someone else has gained illicit access.
- Changing Account Details: Your account details like name, bio, birth date, email, or phone update could be signs of a possible Instagram hack.
- Irregular Account Activity: If you see weird happenings such as spam messages, multiple Instagram posts, or follow requests to unknown accounts, it might be a hack. They do things like sharing odd content or making unexpected profile changes. These suggest foul play.
- Unknown Devices: Instagram shows the list of devices logged in. Any unknown device logging in could be a hacker’s attempt at your account.
- Unfamiliar Posts or Activities: If you observe content such as posts, comments, or messages you did not create or send, it suggests possible unauthorized access to your account.
- Alterations in Email or Password: If you receive notifications about changes to your email, phone number, or password that you failed to start, it could indicate a hacked account.
- Unusual login Accounts: If you receive notifications regarding unfamiliar login requests, it could indicate that someone is trying to gain unauthorized access to your account.
- Questionable Direct Messages: Should your friends tell you about strange messages or unfamiliar links from your account, it could be a hacker misusing it.
Can I Get my Instagram Account Back after it’s been hacked?
It is possible to get back into your Instagram account after it has been hacked or disabled, depending on when it happened. To eliminate the invader and increase security, login, modify your login information, and enable two-factor authentication if it hasn’t changed.
Step 1: Check if You Can Still Sign in with Your Password
Verify that you can access your account if you observe warning signs. Hackers may be able to get in using borrowed devices, even without changing passwords. If you can get in as soon as possible, reset your Instagram password to stop hackers from accessing your account and uploading unwanted data.
To modify your Instagram password, follow the instructions below:
- After logging into your Instagram account, go to your profile.
- Select the hamburger menu icon (≡) from the upper right corner.
- Select Privacy and Settings from the menu.
- In the Account Settings, select Accounts Center, then choose Password and Security.
- To update the Instagram account, click Change Password and choose it.
- Follow the steps to create a strong and unique password.
Make sure to delete any unauthorized users from your account.
- Choose ‘Where you’re logged in’ from the Password and Security option.
- Select ‘Log out’ to remove any suspect device by clicking on it.
If someone blocks you from your account due to compromised information, follow the steps below to restore access.
Step 2: Check Your Email to undo Account Changes
If someone changes your email address or password, Instagram will notify you through email. This might be a scammer. If you didn’t request these changes, you can go back to your prior password by selecting “revert this change” in the email. Check your spam or junk folders while monitoring for emails from security@mail.instagram.com.
Step 3: Recover Your Account Through the App
If the hacker changes your password and recovery email, you can change your password using the mobile recovery option.
- Choose ‘Forgotten Password?’ on the Instagram login page.
- After selecting ‘Search by mobile number’ and entering your phone number, click ‘Find Account.’
- You will get a message with a password reset link.
- To change your password, follow the instructions in the SMS.
Instagram may help you recover control of your account if the hacker modifies any of your account’s details, including passwords or contact information.
Step 4: Request Help Directly from Instagram
if hackers have taken control of your account and locked you out without allowing you to get back the password, inform Instagram now about the hacked account immediately. The platform offers recovery methods, such as confirming your identity with particular details if the Instagram profile does not contain your pictures, such as:
- The email address and phone number put in while creating the account
- The type of device that you use to create the account
If you want help with an account using your photos, Instagram may ask you for a video selfie to confirm that you are the real account owner. Although the process may take some time (days or weeks), following these steps carefully will help you regain control of your account.
What to Do if a Hacker Has Deleted Your Instagram Account
Hackers can take over your Instagram account and delete all your posts, leaving your profile blank. They might even move to erase your entire account forever.
How to Recover Deleted Posts on Instagram
To recover deleted posts, you must first regain access to your account. Navigate to the ‘Your Activity’ area of your Instagram profile. From there, select ‘Recently Deleted’ to view posts from the previous 30 days and stories of the prior day. Back up these pictures and videos from this section to your profile.
How to Recover a Deleted Account on Instagram?
If you suspect a hacker has deleted your Instagram account, contact Meta, Instagram’s owner, as soon as possible. Instagram keeps your information after you remove your record for about thirty days. So, you must inform Instagram within 30 days. If you do so, you will retain the opportunity to retrieve your account. The possibility that Instagram may restore your account improves significantly with immediate reporting.
Who’s at Risk of Getting Their Instagram Hacked?
There is a chance that an Instagram account hack may affect many people, such as:
- High-profile Users: Because of their large fan bases, celebrities, public figures, and influencers often become targets of threats.
- Users with weak passwords: People who use passwords that are simple to figure out or hackers often use them at risk of hacking attempts.
- Users of unprotected or compromised devices: Users’ accounts may be in danger if they use devices with weaknesses in security or compromised systems.
- Accessing scam victims: There is an increased chance of hacking for those who accidentally give their login credentials to fake websites or accounts.
- Accounts containing sensitive or valuable data: Hackers may target accounts containing sensitive data to take advantage of or use for illegal purposes.
Cybercriminals target social media accounts to obtain personal data. When they access one account, they use it to break into other accounts, deceiving contacts with malicious links and fake content to get money. Since they provide hackers access to a wider audience, accounts with many followers are particularly appealing.
Instagram accounts can potentially be exploited for extortion when the victim needs to pay to recover control. The danger increases as connected sites like Facebook may serve as entry points to more delicate websites, such as e-commerce sites that hold personal financial information.
How Do Instagram Accounts Get Hacked?
Hackers often use many strategies to obtain illegal access to a person’s Instagram account, preying on user trust and weaknesses. Six popular strategies are as follows:
- Deceptive “Get-Rich-Quick” Scams: Cybercriminals use cryptocurrency or investment scams to deceive users into clicking malware-containing websites.
- Bait-and-switch strategies: Hackers send emails containing links to deceptive Instagram login pages to victims. After entering the login information, scammers take over the account.
- MITM attacks: Man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks use unprotected wireless networks to allow hackers to intercept data transmissions and perhaps acquire passwords.
- Impersonation as Friends: Cybercriminals assume the identity of friends to deceive unaware targets into clicking on dangerous links; around 50% of victims of account takeover select links in direct messages from known contacts.
- Data breaches: Hackers can use personal data from other platforms’ breaches to obtain illegal access to Instagram accounts.
- Vulnerability of Linking: Linking Facebook and Instagram profiles exposes both platforms to attacks. A breach in one account can put the other at risk.
How to Keep Your Instagram Account Safe?
Consider the following precautions to keep your Instagram account safe from hackers:
Make a Strong Password
Strong, Distinctive Passwords: Use passwords that are hard to figure out and complex. Reusing passwords could enable someone with access to numerous accounts to access one password (for example, through a data breach). To provide additional security, enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
Avoid Uncertain Links
Be careful when clicking on doubtful or suspicious links, especially if you receive them from senders you need to become more familiar with or through direct messages. When you click on a link in a phishing email or direct message (DM), hackers usually use it to take you to a fake website that appears like Instagram. If you enter your login data on these fake websites, hackers can obtain your data.
Secure Networks
To secure your Instagram account, avoid these things:
- Use VPN: To protect your location from Instagram, encrypt your internet traffic, and stop information from being intercepted on unprotected Wi-Fi networks, turn on a virtual private network (VPN) like ExtremeVPN.
- Avoid public WiFi: Avoid using free public WiFi, especially while logging into social media. If necessary, use a VPN when using public networks.
Regular Updates
Keep your Instagram app and device operating system updated with the most recent security patches and updates.
Third-Party Apps
Keep a close check on which external applications interact with your Instagram account. Don’t let doubtful or useless apps in. Previously, apps for scheduling posts or keeping tabs on followers may have crept in. Regularly check your settings to ensure that only trusted apps are allowed in.
Switch on Autosave
Switch the autosave feature to keep a copy of your photos and posts on your device. It’s a life-saver in case your account gets compromised, as it keeps a copy, but remember, it won’t stop a hack.