Phishing has become notoriously popular on social media. Hackers are creating fake accounts, messaging pages with large followings and hacking their accounts holding them ransom in exchange for payment through bitcoin. The way the attacks work is hackers will send you an email that contains a link to a fake Instagram login page. When you log in with your email and password, they then get your credentials and wreck havoc.

Growing your social media page is not an overnight success. You have to be consistent, make great content, understand the algorithm, constantly have stories, make reels, the list goes on and on. I was feeling pretty confident about both of the pages I managed to grow. My business page had over 100k followers with great engagement and support! My personal page reached 60k followers and I had finally gotten my blue check, so I was feeling myself because I was VERIFIED!

One Sunday morning, I received a DM from a verified Instagram account saying that I had to appeal one of my post for having music on the post that was not approved by the artist. I have gotten several of these in email form because I often post videos on my business page with music. I thought it was a bit suspicious because they usually ask to appeal through email but in my mind I said “Well it’s from a verified account that says I infringed copyright so it must be real” Boy was I wrong. I entered in my email which then took me onto another page that looked like my email sign in. I signed into my email, entering my password and then another window opened up asking me to sign back into instagram. I signed into instagram and carried on to appeal the post. When I refreshed my account, I was logged out of the app. I signed back in and moments later was logged off again. I went onto my computer to log in and asked to send a code to my email to reset my password. When I went to my email, I had an email from instagram that had been read/opened with the code to reset my password.

I then went onto my business account to check my page and over 50 post had been deleted. I immediately knew, someone hacked my page. I tried to reset the password using my phone number and the log in screen said instagram does not recognize this phone number or email. I started to freak out and called my assistant to explain what happened. She quickly started researching ways to get in contact with instagram or how to get your account back or any advice she could find about accounts being hacked.

Without hesitation I went onto my business page and made IG stories explaining my personal account had been hacked and asked if everyone could please report the page. The hacker boldly sent me a DM from my own personal page asking me if I wanted my account back I would have to pay him in bitcoin. <The Audacity>

I was so heated and overwhelmed I did not think to change my password on my business page. ( I know what you are thinking... duh.) But in the heat of the moment, you are not really thinking clearly. Before I knew it, he somehow hacked my business page, started deleting photos and changed the name his own personal account. <Again, the freakin audacity> He then messaged me asking me to pay him via bitcoin. He told me if I didn’t pay him, he would permanently delete my photos and sell the account to someone else. He also continued to raise the price and messaged me on WhatsApp asking me to make a bitcoin account and send him the money.

I could feel the tears starting to run down my face. I kept thinking to myself “all that hard work over the past 6 years just gone in a flash.” 4 days later I did end up getting my accounts back. I have a real cyber guardian angel that recovered everything in less than 30 minutes. I know that is not everyones case and I consider myself extremely blessed that the community shared it enough that my accounts were hacked and my cyber angel reached out!

What to do if you have been hacked…

If I read one article I read 90 articles on what to do if your account has been hacked and had no such luck! Emailing IG and filling out the forms does not really do anything. IG’s email system is run by what they call “sophisticated bots” that send you into an endless cycle of frustration. I do know some people found success in retrieving his/her hacked accounts, based on reading the articles but that was not my story! If you’ve been hacked, you will get a notification via email that your IG handle/associated login email has been changed (by the hacker). You will then be sent to an error page or redirected to the IG login dashboard on your computer.

Next… SUBMIT A REPORT FORM TO IG SUPPORT

Chances are the hacker changed your email and password associated with your IG, so there is no way you can send yourself a link to change the password via email at this point. Here is what to do: On the app login page of IG account that was hacked, click “Forgot Password” then click “Need More Help” on the following page that pops up You will then be redirected to a form which you can submit to IG Support’s bots indicating your account has been hacked.

Reset all of your Passwords

Bank, Email, Paypal, Website…ALL OF THEM!

Reach out and spread the word everywhere!

Use your other social media platforms, LinkedIn, mass text, emails! Tell everyone! I had several people reach out who had connections at Facebook. You never know who knows who!

Tips to Prevent you from being hacked!

Pick a Strong Password and change it often

This may seem like it is the most obvious but it is the most important! One of the most common ways that hackers break into accounts is by guessing passwords or by using old passwords that were compromised in data breaches. Ever posted a picture of your dog and said “I love fluffy so much” and then the next day posted your birthday celebration on June 21st?... Fluffy0621 is a dead giveaway! Using nonsense phrases like SushiSundaysinSeattleinSpring is far more complicated because it is a long phrase that has nothing to do with your personal life. The importance of a strong complex password is a must have! Using a trusted password manager program like Lastpass can ensure your passwords are protected.

BEWARE OF SUSPICIOUS DM’s EMAILS & THE LINKS THEY INCLUDE

I wish I would have went with my gut when I opened the DM. If you get an email and there are typo’s and long links with random letters and words, Ignore it and Delete it! They are huge red flags even if it is coming from Verified accounts. I later learned that hackers are phishing verified accounts, stealing them, and then turning them into “Blue Check” accounts to help others get their Blue Check.

Enable Two-Factor 2 Authentication.

Two-factor authentication is an additional step in the login process. Every time you want to access your account, you must type a code you received via SMS or an authentication app. While this might seem like a complete pain in the behind and may take more time to log in, it is 234987324% worth enabling because it adds an extra layer of security.

Log out of Instagram often!

Logging out of instagram frequently. In fact, even if you think your accounts are safe, it's always a good idea to do this regularly (once every month or so), just to make sure you're the only one with access to your apps and services. If you log in from a public or foreign computer, be sure to log out when you’re done or leave the computer.

The Biggest lessons I learned…

Around day 3 when my account was still being held hostage, I had peace rush over me. Even though this asshole had stolen my hard work, I knew that I could build it back bigger, better and stronger. I have taken a lot of time understanding instagram and how it works. I also knew how to grow a page and get thousands of followers because it had already been done! I preach this all the time to my mentee’s but It was just another example that instagram is not my property. It is an app owned by a billionaire that could give two shits if I got my accounts back or not. I am a small black business owner. Mark Zukerberg doesnt care about Black Girls Pole or me being a mommy influencer. He would not skip a beat if I never got my accounts back and neither would the thousands of people who work for Facebook and instagram. Their world would continue and I would have to start over. It really is every man for themselves in this social media world. This was a HUGE wakeup call!

I pray this is seen by small business owners everywhere. Build your business… not off the back of social media. Work on your Email list.

Ask yourself:

What would you do if instagram disappeared tomorrow? Would you still be relevant?
Do you have a list of emails to still communicate with your followers?
Would people know who you are without instagram or Facebook or TikTok?
Do you have a website? How active is it?
Are you connecting with your people outside of the app?

Instagram strategically makes it so that you don’t ever leave the app. Even when you click to another website, you are still technically in the app. Instagram is purposely conditioning you to treat your phone like a drug and be addicted to it. The average person spends 2 hours and 25 minutes on the app and checks their phones over 80 times a day.

I decided that week that I don’t want to be that person. I want this app to be a tool to help build my business but I want to focus on the things I bought and paid for. My website, my newsletters, my subscribers and making connections with my people off the app!

Thank You!

I can not thank the person enough who helped me get my account back! Runa Sandvik is a computer security expert and one of my students! She was so willing to step in and help me because of her connections at Facebook. If you are reading this, a Million thank you’s again!!! Spreading the word and telling everyone your situation can be helpful because again, you never know who knows who! I also want to thank the entire Black Girls Pole and Pole Community! You all spread the word like wildfire , reported, reached out, gave contacts, sent mean DM’s to the hacker (lol) and were there to support me! When I created a backup page for BGP there was over 4,000 new followers in 24 hours because you were all ready to help rebuild the account. I can not ask for a better tribe to have behind me. I will forever love you and be grateful for you.

My IG was hacked - Lessons I learned and tips to prevent it from happening to you!