Do you feel that something is off with your Instagram account? Do you have trouble logging in? Beware. Your Instagram account might be hacked. Keep reading to find our how someone can hack your Instagram without you knowing.
Instagram is a social networking app that is loved by users and social influencers alike. It also creates a good platform for business developers to create an online business market. With the new updates and added features like Instagram reels, it attracts a traffic of over 1 billion users per month.
This large ocean of users attracts many scammers, hackers and phishers. Imagine the huge number of resources that are available for them to exploit. Cyber criminals find some way into your Instagram profile and try to steal your credentials.
If you wish to avoid being hacked, make sure that you use a secured wifi. Hackers tend to find ways through open wifi channels. Cancel any third-party apps that you may be using. Try to avoid click baiting on advertisements, especially the ones offering freebies and rewards. You can be certain that it is an attempt to hack your Instagram.
How Someone Can Hack Your Instagram Without You Knowing?
Instagram is the platform that is mostly preferred by social influencers who have a large number of followers. It is also the go to destination for small and large businesses, to keep in touch with their customers and share updates on new products. This custom of having a large number of followers automatically attracts hackers.
Hackers tend to crack into your Instagram account to steal your credentials. If you find that something is terribly off when you login to your Instagram account, beware, for your account has been hacked. When your account is hacked you will have trouble logging into your Instagram account. You will notice changes in your profile information and also your posts. You will also notice that you are following strange Instagram accounts that you have no idea about.
These are some of the most common ways in which someone can hack your Instagram without you knowing:
1. Man In The Middle Attacks
If you are using an unsecured wifi, you are very vulnerable to be a victim of MITM attack. Here the hackers will crack your Instagram account through the unsecured wifi. They will steal your password and all other information from your Instagram account.
2. Facebook – Instagram Cross posting
Meta has enabled users to cross post between Facebook and Instagram through reels and Messenger. Even though this makes social networking easier for the users by cross posting between the two platforms, it also increases the risk on hack your Instagram account by two fold.
3. Phishing
It is very common nowadays to come across a third party link in Instagram and other social networking platforms. This will be decorated as an advertisement or a promotional offer. If you are attracted by it, and you click on it, you will be redirected to a third-party website. If this requires you to enter your Instagram username and password, or requests you to share the link with your friends and followers, then beware as this could be a click bait, a desperate attempt to hack your Instagram.
What Do I Do If My Instagram Account Has Been Hacked?
Take quick action. This is the only way to protect yourself. Instagram has over 1.3 billion active users around the world. This makes it a target for scammers, hackers and phishers to hack your Instagram account. To protect yourself and your Instagram account from hackers you must spring into action and follow these steps to keep your account secure.
1. Change the Password
First, change your Instagram password to something that is hard to crack. Make a secure password filled with alphabets, numbers and special characters. Remember that an easy password is easy to hack. So make your password as secure as you possibly can.
2. Report to Instagram
If you think that hackers have hack your Instagram account, make sure to report to Instagram to secure your account. Instagram will then instigate a set of recovery actions for you to take depending on the type of account that you are trying to recover.
Check your email account for an email from [email protected]. This is the official mail from the Instagram support team. If they notice any unusual activity in your Instagram account, they will send you a notification mail, regarding a sudden change in the username, password, mail id or even the location of the device. You can follow the necessary procedure as prompted and request a login link or a security code from Instagram.
3. Enable Two-factor Authentication
Use the two -factor authentication to add an extra barrier between your Instagram account and the hacker. If you enable the two-factor authentication, you will be notified if someone attempts to login using a different device or from a new location. They will be asked to verify their identity with an OTP code. You can enable the two-factor authentication to stop hackers, hack your Instagram without you knowing by opening Settings > Security > Two-Factor Authentication > Click the toggle to turn ON.
4. Check Your Third-Party Apps
You can make use of various third -party apps to enhance your social networking experience through Instagram. However, not all third-party apps are trustworthy. If you are not careful enough, they can hack your Instagram without you knowing. You can check your third-party apps that have access to your Instagram account by opening Settings > Security > Apps and Websites.
5. Verify Your Identity
The Instagram support team will ask you to verify your identity by providing the email id or phone number and the device that was used at the time of sign-up. If you request support for your account with photos of you, then you will be asked to take a video selfie of your face, in multiple directions, to check and confirm your identity.
Wrap Up
Instagram is a space that is used to widen our social circle. It gives us the desired platform to showcase us and gain followers. However, it is our responsibility to stay cautious and be aware of all the dangers that come with it. Know that someone can hack your Instagram without you knowing at any time.
Frequently Asked Question
Q1 How Do I Know That My Instagram Account Has Been Hacked?
If you account has been hacked, trust your sixth sense. You will feel that something is off with your Instagram account. Someone could hack your Instagram without you knowing. Unfortunately, not all of us have ‘Peter tingle’ to warn us off such malicious attacks. You can be sure that someone can hack your Instagram if you find any of the following,
· You have difficulty logging in to your Instagram account.
· You find changes in your personal information in the Instagram profile.
· You will start to receive a lot of spam on your feed.
· You will receive a lot of DMS from strange accounts.
· You will notice that you follow a lot of strange accounts that you are not aware of.
Q2 My Instagram Account Has Been Hacked, But I Can Still Login. What Should I Do?
If your ‘Spidey senses’ tell you that someone has hacked your Instagram account, but you seem to be able to login, using your current username and password, do the following to secure your Instagram account.
· Change your password and send a password rest email to yourself.
· Add additional security by turning on the two-factor authentication.
· Check to confirm your email id and phone number
· Remove any third-party links that you don’t recoginse from the Accounts Center.
· Stop suspicious third-party apps.
