Megan, an Instagram user with about 2,000 followers, woke up Monday morning to a logged out Instagram account. Her user name and profile image had changed, as had the password, email address, and Facebook account linked to her Instagram.
Like half a dozen other hacking victims who spoke with Mashable, her profile photo had been changed, as had all the contact information linked to the account, which was now linked to an email with a .ru Russian domain.
Interestingly, the hackers don’t appear to be posting new photos or removing old posts from their victims’ accounts, as is often the case when a social media account is compromised. But they are changing all of the contact information linked to the account, which makes it exceedingly difficult for its owner to regain access.
That’s because Instagram’s own security policies can make it challenging for someone to access an account if they no longer own the email and phone number associated with the account. While that policy is in place for obvious reasons — you don’t want just anyone to be able to request a password reset, for example — it also has the effect of making the account recovery process extremely difficult for people who have had their account credentials changed.
Instagram say it has a process in place to address these types of cases, but many users have found it lacking. Because the company relies on a largely automated account recovery process, it can be time consuming, and leave users feeling like they are moving in circles without anyone actually addressing their situation.
Source: mashable.com
Photo: snakebytez