Using Instagram To Empower Your Business (Part 2)

Anna, an Instagram user who had over 234k followers on her personal account, received an email from “Instagram” asking if she would like to receive a verification badge. She hadn’t heard much of verification badges, but decided that it couldn’t hurt, especially if Instagram thought she needed it.

Anna clicked the “Verify My Account” link, where she was prompted to enter in her Instagram login credentials. Four hours later, she was unable to login to Instagram and found an image saying “Hacked” on her Instagram Story.

Indeed, her account had been hacked and she didn’t have access.

Everyday Instagram accounts are hacked. How do you prevent it from happening like Anna? Today we’re going to share how to secure and prevent your Instagram account from being hacked.

Two-Factor Authentication

One of the first ways to protect your Instagram account is to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA). This means that you will receive a text message before anyone can login to your account. If a hacker found your password, he couldn’t access your account without knowing the code that was texted to your number. Now 2FA isn’t 100% secure as sometimes hackers can duplicate phone numbers or even intercept the text message, so it’s not wise to rely one hundred percent on 2FA.  

NEVER reuse a password

According to a recent study, over 80% of people 18 years and older use the same password for multiple accounts.This is very dangerous as if one password was compromised, a hacker could take that password and try it with bank login, email, and other social media accounts, causing even greater damage. Every online account should have a different password for each login. Use a secure password manager, like Dashlane, to remember all of your passwords. This will easily allow you to keep track of your passwords.

Emails from Instagram

One of the top ways that hackers can gain access to your accounts is through something called phishing. According to the dictionary, phishing is “the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.” Anna was a victim of phishing. She received an email that looked like it was from Instagram, but really wasn’t. Because of this, she lost her Instagram account. A few things to check before clicking any links or entering your login information:

• What is the email address that is sending the message? In the case of Anna, the email that she received wasn’t coming from an @instagram.com address, but rather an @instagram.support.com.tr.ht address. That address is obviously fraudulent.
• What is the message asking you to do? Instagram will NEVER email you asking if you want a verification badge. If you receive a message like Anna, delete it.
• Be aware of emails stating that your Instagram account password has been changed or is suspended. Sometimes these emails can actually be a part of a phishing attack as well. Check the email address that the email came from and if you’re still not sure of the sender, go to Instagram.com, click on “Login” and then “Forgot password”. Complete the reset password steps. This will send you an email directly from Instagram where you can reset your password. This is the best way to protect your account without clicking on any links.  
• Is there a notification appearing in your Instagram app with the same message? If the message is showing in your Instagram app, there is high chance that it is valid and associated with Instagram.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t any way for Anna to access her account after it was compromised. Anna hired an agency to assist and with five days of work, was able to regain access to her account. Protect your Instagram account from being hacked. Follow the steps to ensure your account is secured.

In part one of this article, we talked about the purpose of having an Instagram account, your profile, images, and hashtags. Posting new images, updating your profile, and adding hashtags are all important, but protecting your Instagram account from being hacked should be top priority. Without security, you can’t empower your business.

If you have enjoyed this two part series on Instagram, leave a comment below so we can bring you more great content.