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How Instagram accounts get hacked: 6 tactics used by hackers

How many Instagram accounts get hacked a year?

According to Notch's data, an Instagram creator account gets hacked every 10 minutes on average - meaning over 50,000 creator accounts get hacked every year. The hacking figure for all accounts, not just creator accounts, is much higher.

Every year, cybercriminals generate over $3 billion in revenue from social media attacks alone and hacking constitutes a large portion of these malicious incidents.

To help influencers and business owners protect their Instagram accounts, below we breakdown 6 tactics hackers use to extract personal information and bypass 2-factor authentication. 

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How do Instagram accounts get hacked? 

How do hackers hack Instagram accounts? There are default security features on Instagram, like 2-factor authentication, so how can hackers overcome these?

The general answer to that question is, in most cases, some form of social engineering.  

In this context, social engineering refers to the act of manipulating and deceiving Instagram users into willingly providing confidential information.

1. False copyright infringement messages

The tactic

Instagram clearly states that you can only share original content that doesn’t violate copyright infringement laws. That said, it’s possible for you to commit a copyright violation unintentionally, in which case Instagram would take action and reach out to correct the problem. 

This has led to many cybercriminals actually impersonating Instagram representatives pretending to address copyright infringement issues. In these cases, a hacker sends a link to your email or through a private message on Instagram and asks you to log in in order to address the issue. This is a real-life example of a message that was used to hack @wandertears:

You can learn more about this case by checking out this article. 

The link leads to a fake page that, even though it mimics Instagram’s login page, is actually designed to collect your username and password details. The only difference between the real page and the fake is a small variation in the URL, which is hard to detect. 

To avoid raising suspicion, cybercriminals usually redirect you to one of Instagram’s legitimate FAQ pages that discusses the topic of copyright infringement.

The solution

There’s a couple different methods you can use to verify the messages you receive from Instagram. First, urgent Instagram notifications are usually delivered directly through the account interface or via email. If you receive a DM about your account, it won’t be legitimate - even if it’s from a profile that has the name “Instagram” in the username. 

Second, Instagram now allows you to see a record of all security and login emails through your account. If you receive a suspicious email directly to your inbox, you should check this part of your Instagram account before opening the message. 

From your profile, go to Security>Emails from Instagram. If you don’t see a record of the email, you should delete it right away.  

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2. Deceitful verified badge offers

The tactic

You’re probably familiar with verified badges, the blue pins at the top of Instagram profiles that have been authenticated by the social network. While valuable, this account feature is also at the center of another social engineering that hackers use to break into Instagram. 

In this scenario, hackers send a private message or email that offers a chance to add a verified badge, linking to a deceitful website that collects your login information. They may request that you don’t change your profile data, like username or password, until the change has taken effect in order to gain enough time to break into your account. 

Here’s an example of a verification badge scam email sent to the owners of pillow business, Cuddle Buddy. 

The solution

There are a few tell-tell discrepancies here to help you avoid falling for such a scam. For starters, grammar mistakes like excessive capitalization should serve as a warning. Not only this, but the profile the message is being sent from does not belong to an official account nor does it have a verified account. It has the word “Instagram” in the name, but it doesn’t give any indication of being official. Finally, note how the “contact us” text on the blue button is not centered properly, so it’s not consistent with other Instagram content. 

To get a blue verification badge right now you need to apply through your profile, and the form you have to fill in should look a little something like this:

3. Illegitimate suspicious activity alerts

The tactic

Hackers that employ social engineering attacks leverage every piece of information they have at their disposal. For example, they sometimes design suspicious activity alerts that look like a legitimate notification from Instagram, but actually contain malicious links. 

The solution

According to the Meta-owned social platform, emails from Instagram only come from “@mail.instagram. com” or “@facebookmail.com” addresses. Here’s an example of what a legitimate security email from Instagram looks like:

This security message is for a new login from a device that the user didn’t commonly sign in through. Note how the email address is from a trusted source and how all of the design elements are aligned properly. 

Even if the emails you receive look legitimate, we advise that you go to your Instagram account and verify that the security email was sent through there. 

4. Fraudulent giveaways and brand sponsorships

The tactic 

Fraudulent giveaways are especially troublesome because they exist in an ecosystem that is packed with legitimate promotional freebies. This form of social engineering can take two different shapes.

In its most traditional version, this type of hack operates like a false verified badge attack. The difference is that the hacker impersonates a big brand, exciting start-up, or similar renowned company that’s offering a big giveaway to specific social media influencers.  

Some scammers even have legitimate-looking accounts that have been active for a while and have thousands of followers. The first message usually includes at least one spoofed link leading to a false Instagram login that’s designed to extract the username and password submitted. 

A more complex form of fraudulent giveaways and sponsorships can occur when hackers have collected information about you, but still need a few more details to successfully breach your account. Instead of sending you a link to a spoofed login page, hackers may ask you to fill in a survey that asks for personal information, like your date of birth, mother’s maiden name, and other answers to common security questions. 

Below is a real example of the phishing email that led to @FlipFlopWanderers getting hacked. Read their full story here.

The solution

Never rush or feel pressured into clicking links. Take time to investigate if the email looks legitimate: for instance, check for spelling mistakes and hover over the hyperlink to see if the URL leads to a familiar or safe website. To be extra safe, you could even Google the company supposedly sending the email, and contact them to check if they really did send you an email.

5. Counterfeit social media tools

The tactic 

Managing a social media profile can take a huge amount of time, especially if you have a large base of followers. There are many tools that can simplify the process, but you also have to evaluate each platform to make sure it comes from a legitimate developer. 

Just as with malicious web extensions, hackers can create counterfeit tools that are supposed to improve functionality, but actually pose a security threat. 

These tools usually look and feel legitimate, but bring you very little in terms of functionality and practical value. This type of scheme is not as common because it requires a significant amount of resources, but it’s still used by cybercriminals looking for bigger, more valuable targets. 

When this type of attack is successful, target users integrate the counterfeit tool into their social media accounts. This fake tool can be used to set up man-in-the-middle attacks, intercept all data, and extract login details, among other data.

The solution

It’s normal to watch your budget, especially in the early stages of your Instagram account. But, working with lesser-known, low-cost tools increases the chances of being targeted by scammers. To avoid this, you should opt for established tools that come from renowned providers or platforms that have been recommended by trusted peers.

6. Reverse proxy attacks

The tactic

All of the social engineering hacking techniques we’ve covered so far require hackers to manually create fake apps and website pages in order to collect details from their targets. With reverse proxy attacks, hackers don’t need to create a spoof website or app - instead they can automate the theft of credentials. 

A reverse proxy attack is a type of man-in-the-middle approach - hackers direct victims to a domain that sits in between the user and the legitimate website. The URL will be very similar to the legitimate page, and the overall appearance in the malicious domain mirrors the legitimate page.

When applied to the Instagram context, you could receive a convincing email from a hacker that directs you to Instagram’s login page. What you don’t realize is that you’ve been sent to do this via a proxy server - so when you enter your credentials and log into Instagram, your information - including 2FA - is being intercepted in real time. 

The solution

Be extremely cautious when clicking on links from your email inbox - always verify an email claiming to be from Instagram by checking your Instagram account. From your profile, go to Security>Emails - if the email doesn’t appear there, it’s likely a scam. 

What Do Hackers Do After Hacking Your Account?

Now that we’ve answered the question “how do hackers steal Instagram accounts?” let's go over the reasons why these criminals may want to target your profile.  

Like other types of criminals, hackers and other malicious actors flock to the most popular platforms because these present the biggest financial opportunities. Today, you can generate a significant amount of revenue from a large base of followers and hackers are eager to benefit from this.

Some of the common things a hacker may do once your account is breached include: 

  • Demand a ransom
  • Scam your friends, family members, and customers. Investment, Bitcoin, and Romance scams are some of the most common. 
  • Sell your account on the dark web
  • Use your account to run a fraudulent operation
  • Make various types of illegal requests, like requesting lewd photos

What To Do If Your Instagram Is Hacked

Getting hacked on Instagram is a nightmare, especially if you're a business owner relying on your account to market your services and drive sales. Keep reading for a summary of what you can do if you've just been hacked. For more information, watch the video explainer below.

  1. Reach out to your social media insurance provider, who'll help you recover your account ASAP while paying you for each day you're locked out.
  2. Check your email for a message from [email protected] and select “revert this change”. If this doesn't work, continue to step 3.
  3. Click “Forgot password” on the login screen and request a login link. If this doesn't work, continue to step 4.
  4. Send a video selfie to Instagram: This method has helped a lot of people retrieve their accounts. An important detail here is that if your account doesn’t contain photos of your face, this verification process won’t work. 
  5. Create a Business Account on Facebook, go to "Help", and select "My ad account was hacked". From there, you have a better chance of reaching a human customer support representative. We show how to do this in the video.

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Looking for the Best Way to Protect Your Account?

Hackers use a wide range of approaches and develop new techniques regularly to hack Instagram accounts and bypass Instagram’s default security measures. The number of social media scam victims in the US skyrocketed from 46,000 to 95,000 in 2021, and that number shows no signs of slowing down in the future. 

Learning about the different techniques that hackers use and implementing security best practices as a counter are the first steps to keeping your Instagram account safe. Unfortunately, however, there is no way to guarantee your account against hacks - even users with multi factor authentication set up are falling victim. That's why we launched Notch - to finally give creators peace of mind.

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How To Hack Someone’s Instagram Account

Instagram has become one of the most popular social media apps. In 2021, there were about 1.21 billion Instagram accounts worldwide. Many users have shared their life through photos, stories, and videos, putting a lot of their details and information in this one app.

However, for your reasons, which might be valid, you may want to hack an Instagram account. It’s not impossible to hack an account on Instagram, as they can, and do, get hacked. If you’re trying to learn how to hack an Instagram account, read on to learn the various methods.

How to Hack Someone’s Instagram Account with mSpy Tool

mSpy is one of the best Instagram spying apps that lets parents know what their children are doing online.

With the mSpy app on your child’s smartphone or computer, you can monitor their text messages, see where they are, and know with whom they are talking. It can monitor their browsing history, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and more.

The best part about mSpy is that you will receive a notification if your kid removes the app from their phone. Getting the software and using it is not difficult. Here are the steps:

Step 1) Get a subscription to mSpy

Enter your email address and purchase a plan based on your requirement

Step 2) Download the App.

Select the type of mobile device you want to monitor. (Android or iOS devices). You need to make sure that you have physical access to the phone. Here, we have selected an Android device.

Note: Pay careful attention to the instructions since some of their premium features require rooting your Android device or jailbreaking an iPhone.

Step 3) Select your Android device manufacturer

You will get different Android device manufacturers like 1) Samsung, 2) Huawei, 3) Xiaomi, 4) Moto, 5) Google Pixel, 6) LG and 7) any other manufacturers.

Here, we have selected Samsung. Then Press “Proceed,”

Step 4) Download the app on your Mobile device.

Follow on-screen instructions and configure mSpy.

Step 5) Log in with your credentials and open mSpy dashboard after 1-2 hours to track your kid’s Instagram activity.

Step 6) Click on the Instagram message option

Now scroll down and click the Instagram message option.

Step 7) See the Instagram activities

You can see all the Instagram messages of that person.

Remember that if your child loses or breaks their phone, you can put mSpy on a new device without changing your subscription.

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14-Days Money-Back Guarantee

How to Hack Instagram ID: 4 Methods

Hackers can use several methods to gain access to your Instagram account. Here are some common things hackers can do to manipulate your Instagram account.

Method 1: Using the Phishing

Phishing is a method of hacking that involves sending emails that appear to be from a reputable company. People may get tricked into providing personal information such as social security numbers, passwords, and credit card numbers with these emails alone.

This method can also access a person’s social media accounts. The email or Instagram message may pretend to be from the Instagram company itself and tell the recipient they have been the victim of an attack. They will be instructed to provide their username and password to take the following steps. That information is all that a hacker needs to get into their account.

Method 2: Password with a Keylogger

Keylogging software is another way your Instagram account can be hacked. It is more difficult for hackers to do this from a distance since the software has to be installed on your computer. However, it is the kind of thing your employer could have access to.

This software can keep track of every keystroke from the target device. You could visit Instagram, put in your login credentials, and keep a record of every key you pressed on your keyboard and sent to another computer. With that information, someone could figure out which of those strokes were your username and password.

Method 3: Hack an Account by Guessing a Password

Hackers who use the method to get into your Instagram account could be guessing your password. It is the route parents might take with their children’s devices.

If you know the person, it could be easy to guess their password. It could be their pet’s name or the name of their favorite band. Moreover, many users use the same password for multiple accounts, making it even easier.

Method 4: By Opening Saved Passwords Storage

Accessing saved passwords on a computer is a tricky method of hacking that requires a lot of experience. It is a method used by actual hackers that do not want your information for good purposes.

Sometimes, it is used in conjunction with phishing. If they can get you to give them remote access to your computer by clicking a login link, they can go into your files and find the passwords to all the websites you visit frequently.

Once they find the password for Instagram, they can get your pictures, Instagram messages, friends list, and more.

What Happens if Someone Hacks Your Instagram Account?

The last thing you may want is to have someone else hack your own Instagram account. If a hacker can manage your account on this social media app, they’ll be able to have access to your personal information like:

  • Phone number
  • Email address
  • Birthday
  • Name
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Stories
  • Activities
  • People you follow
  • Messages
  • Likes

In most cases, hackers gather personal details to access your email, accounts in other social media apps, bank accounts, and many others.

What Are the Reasons to Hack Instagram Accounts Without Using a Password?

The term “hacking” immediately conjures images of computer thieves. For the most part, that word describes gaining access to someone’s computer to steal or do something secretly.

However, here are some valid reasons why people want to hack someone’s Instagram accounts:

For Parental Control: Parents of young children or teenagers must be careful in today’s online world. There are countless ways to be taken advantage of. They could be the target of online bullying by their peers or something even darker, such as physical or sexual abuse. Parents need to have a tool that will allow them to see what their children are doing online and to who they are sending direct messages.

Snooping through an Instagram account to manage your children’s activities would probably make them angry, but many parents find no other way to be sure they are keeping their kids safe.

For Revealing a Cheating Spouse: Few things can be more emotionally hurtful than finding out your spouse has been unfaithful. Some people have found various ways to hack their spouse’s Instagram account to obtain proof of their infidelity. It may seem like an ultimate step, but in some states, that proof is necessary during divorce proceedings.

For Employee Monitoring: There are not many ways that a company can justify hacking their employees’ Instagram accounts. They can argue that they want to be sure you are not using social media during your working hours. They may say they are monitoring to be sure your conduct is up to their company standards.

Most people believe accessing your private Instagram account is a trust violation and can see anything they need on your public posts. However, some companies will use software to access your social media accounts.

For Stealing Personal Information: The most common reason why hackers may illegally access an Instagram account is to get one’s personal information. If a hacker succeeds in logging into an account on Instagram, they can open accounts in an individual’s name and may be able to access the people they connect with online.

Not only that, but they may also be able to access personal information tied to the account, allowing them to gather and steal important personal information.

How To Prevent Instagram from Being Hacked

You know how your account could be vulnerable to a hacking attack, but there are many things you can do to protect yourself.

  • Request a Login Link from Instagram: Getting a login link is a form of two-factor authentication. You can request that Instagram send you a new login link to your email. You can change your password when you open that email and click the link. Once that is done, anyone who has access to your account will be logged out and removed.
    Because they won’t know your new password, it will force hackers to start over with the hacking process. However, most of them, at this point, would instead move on to a new account to hack.
  • Request a Security Code or Support from Instagram: In a similar way, you can request that Instagram email you a security code. Clicking on the link in your email will prompt you to enter the code. Once that is done, you will have the opportunity to change your password to log in.
  • Verify Your Identity: You can also request that Instagram verifies your identity. You will enter your full name and submit your driver’s license or government-issued ID. Since a hacker will have none of these documents, they will get kicked offline and no longer have access to your account.

What to do if someone tries to access your Facebook or Instagram

A notification pops up on the smartphone screen: "We detected an unusual login attempt from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil." The first reaction is panic, especially if you live in, say, Vladivostok. What could it be? System failure? Or is someone from the other side of the world really encroaching on your account?

There is no way to panic in such a situation - this will only play into the hands of the burglars. So that you can remain calm and survive this incident with minimal losses, we will arm you with knowledge: we tell you what the matter might be and how to act. nine0003

What could have happened

First, let's figure out how a stranger could gain access to your account at all. There are several options here.

Data leak and wildcard attack

A third party site where you registered might have been leaked. Having acquired a list of logins, e-mail addresses and passwords, scammers use them for a substitution attack, that is, they try to enter stolen credentials on many sites. Unfortunately, many people set the same passwords to protect their accounts in different services - this is what criminals are counting on. nine0003

Alternatively, your Facebook or Instagram credentials may have been leaked from the app you trusted them to. For example, in June last year, thousands of passwords from Instagram accounts leaked to the network, the owners of which used the Social Captain service to buy likes and followers. It turned out that he did not encrypt customer data, and anyone could get access to it. It is reasonable to assume that many users of the service have since experienced hacking attempts.

Phishing

It may also be that some time ago you fell for phishing, and your login with a password fell into the hands of scammers directly. They clicked on some link, and on the page that opened, very similar to the Facebook or Instagram login screen, they entered their credentials. So they ended up with the criminal. For example, most recently, our experts discovered a phishing campaign in which victims were lured to phishing pages by the threat of blocking their Facebook account due to copyright infringement.

Password theft

Your password may have been stolen by malware you picked up somewhere. Many Trojans have a built-in keylogger, a program that logs keystrokes on the keyboard. All logins and passwords that the victim enters, the keylogger directly passes into the hands of attackers.

Access token stolen

Someone may have stolen your access token. So that you don't have to enter a password each time you log into Facebook or Instagram, it saves a small piece of login information on your computer called an access token or access token. If an attacker steals the current token, he will be able to log into the account without a username and password. nine0003

Tokens can be stolen in different ways. Sometimes this is done through vulnerabilities in Facebook itself - for example, in 2018, attackers were able to get access tokens to 50 million Facebook accounts. Also, attackers can use browser extensions to steal tokens.

Login from someone else's device

It's possible that you logged into Facebook or Instagram from someone else's device - at a party, in an Internet cafe, in a hotel lobby, and so on - and did not log out after that. Or, for example, they forgot to log out of their account on a device that they had already sold or donated. Now someone has discovered your oversight and logged into your account. nine0003

False alarm (phishing again)

Your account may not have been hacked at all, but they are trying with a fake suspicious login notification. This is the same phishing that we talked about above, but a slightly different version of it. Instead of the threat of blocking, scammers can use fake suspicious login notifications with a link to phishing sites similar to the login page. Attackers expect that the victim in a panic will go to a fake site and enter their username and password there. nine0003

And what to do?

We have sorted out the possible causes, now it's time to act. To get started, log into your account - but in any case not through the link from the notification (as we already know, it can lead to a phishing site), but through the mobile application or by entering the address in the browser manually. If the password does not match and you can no longer log into your account, refer to the detailed instructions on what to do if your account has already been hijacked, which we published earlier.

If you are still allowed into your account, go to your account settings and verify the authenticity of the notification. For each social network, the path to the desired settings item will be different - see how this is done on Facebook and Instagram. Then go to the “Account Logins” section: if there are no suspicious entries there, then everything is in order, and the message about the hack was still phishing. nine0003

If you really see a suspicious one in the list of logins to your account, then it's time to hurry up to take protective measures - timely actions will help soften the blow:

  • Log out of your account on all devices. On Instagram, you will have to manually end each session in menu Account Logins . And on Facebook, this can be done with a single click in the Security and login section in the settings. This will reset the access tokens.
  • Make sure that the correct phone number and email address are specified in the account settings: attackers could change the data so that the link or code to change the password is sent to them. If they managed to do this, change it back to yours. nine0052
  • Set a new password that is strong and one that you don't use anywhere else. If you're not sure you can remember it, save it in a password manager. By the way, at the same time the program will help you come up with a reliable combination.
  • Turn on two-factor authentication to make it harder for attackers to break into your accounts, even if they know your password.
  • After that, be sure to check all your devices with a reliable antivirus to make sure that they are free of malware. Attention to security settings along with good protection will make your account your fortress. nine0052
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A hacker hacked Instagram in 10 minutes and got $30,000.

Cybersecurity expert Laxman Mutiya found a way to hack any Instagram account in ten minutes - he announced this on his blog. According to Mutiiya, the vulnerability was in a password recovery system where a one-time numeric code is sent to a user to verify their identity. nine0003

Information security researcher Laxman Mutiya told on his blog how he managed to hack Instagram in 10 minutes. While Facebook, which owns the photo hosting, is constantly trying to improve security and prevent outside interference, Mutiya's example proves that this problem can be worked on indefinitely.

An expert discovered a vulnerability in the password recovery system for his Instagram account. The fact is that when a user enters his phone number to resume access to the profile, Instagram sends him a six-digit numeric code that must be entered to verify his identity. nine0003

Laxman Mutiya decided that if he could try a million different codes at this stage, then one would definitely work, which would lead to a password change on any Instagram account.

Nevertheless, the expert rightly decided that the photo service would most likely have protection against such a blunt attack.

Indeed, Instagram has limited the number of shift requests a user can send. Then, by calculation, Mutiya determined that for a successful hack, he would need 5 thousand IP addresses, each of which would send 200 thousand requests. According to the hacker, this is not so difficult to implement if you use the Google or Amazon cloud service. In this case, the entire attack will cost the attacker $150. nine0003

Laxman Mutiya sent his research to the Facebook administration, which was convinced of the insecurity of the existing system. As follows from a letter sent by the leadership of the social network, the vulnerability in Instagram was eliminated, and Mutiya himself received $30,000 as a "bug bounty" - compensation for identified shortcomings.

The expert also gave some advice to those who use Instagram to protect themselves and their data.

He recommends changing your password regularly, using only unique and varied combinations, and be sure to use two-factor identification so that any manipulations with the account are made only with the user's approval. nine0003

In May of this year, it became known about the massive leak of personal information of bloggers and celebrities from Instagram - in total, about 50 million people suffered from it. A database containing the data of millions of Instagram stars using popular photo hosting has been discovered on the Internet, TechCrunch reported. This database, located in the public cloud of Amazon Web Services, was in the public domain and was available to everyone.

As it turned out, each of the entries contained personal data of Instagram bloggers and influencers, including their biography, profile photo, number of followers, geolocation, as well as email and mobile phone number. nine0003

Shortly after the leak was reported in the foreign press, the database went offline and Facebook announced its own investigation.

“We will conduct an investigation to understand where the data, including email addresses and phone numbers, got into the network - from Instagram or other sources. We will also contact Chtrbox [the company that leaked] to find out where they got this information from and how it was made public,” Facebook said in a statement. nine0003

In June, Instagram management announced the simplification of the procedure for recovering an account after a hacker hack. The new system will ask the user a series of questions that can confirm his identity, such as the original email address (if the hacker changed it) or phone number. The user will then receive a six-digit account recovery code.

This method will help return the profile to the owner, even if attackers change all contact information to new ones to make recovery more difficult.

Learn more