Hey friends, welcome back to the blog-
I’ll start off by saying this definitely isn’t a post I ever thought I would be making, nor do I necessarily want to make. As most of you know by now, or probably have caught on, my Instagram was hacked and then deleted a couple weeks ago. In addition to that, my entire identity was stolen in the process. I’ve gotten many messages from people confused and wondering what was going on, I haven’t shared much and have been vague on the details of the situation up until now. I want to be open and transparent, so I’m going to share how everything went down and the details. Get comfy and buckle up, because you’re in for a rollercoaster ride.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Let’s start from the beginning, on May 4th I received an email to my business account from “Instagram”. Usually my inbox does a great job at filtering out spam, but it failed me big time on this one. The email came from instagram@helpsupportcenter which to me at the time seemed legit being it looked like a normal domain name. The email said they were requesting verification of my trademark for the blog being that I receive some commission for promoting brands and collaborating with companies through my account. Running a blog through your Instagram, even if you don’t post much on your actual blog (cough cough me), is still considered a business in Instagram’s and Facebook’s eyes if you’re making some form of income. In 2012 Facebook and Instagram merged, so they became interconnected and now run through the new name recently claimed, Meta. I have had to provide information to Meta before, so to me this wasn’t suspicious at the time. There was a link to an identification form attached to verify my information, so I clicked the link they sent me and filled out the form. It was the exact form the real Instagram uses, which requires some basic personal information and one form of ID. Shortly after submitting the form, I got a strange message on WhatsApp that my phone number is attached to. The message said Instagram had received the form and would get back to me soon, and the kicker was it was all in broken English. And that was the moment I realized that I really am a blonde and I just had massively screwed up. Immediately I responded back saying I knew I had just fell for a phishing scam and asked them to please not use my information (as if that was gonna work). The scammer replied and said if I didn’t want anything to happen I would have to send them money and promote them on my account. Obviously I was not willing to do those things, and I am happy I didn’t. Let me just quick pause here and say, I know you’re probably thinking “I would never be that dumb to fall for something like that in the first place” BUT I always told myself the same thing and it does happen.
Fast forward, the following day I got a text from my marketing manager saying that somebody had made a fake Instagram account pretending to be me. This is something that has happened before, so I didn’t think much about it and asked people to report the account as usual. The morning after that account was made, I woke up to a notification from Instagram saying they were shutting my account down for impersonation. So long story short, the scammer was able to use my ID to claim my identity and shut my account down that I’ve had for over 10 years. I was irate that Instagram didn’t look into this further and went off only one piece of information for the account verification. Shortly after my account was disabled, I received another message from the scammer saying I needed to send money if I wanted to get it back. Once again, not gonna happen. I reached out to Instagram a handful of times and submitted all of the appeal forms, but I wasn’t getting any response. I will say Instagram has the worst ‘customer support’ I’ve ever seen, essentially because there is no customer support that exists or people to contact. I tried just about everything in the book to get my account back, and eventually I just gave up and made a new private account for family, friends, and people I actually know. Yes it seems trivial to be upset about losing a social media account, but I’ve had my account since I was 15 and it’s filled with so many meaningful memories that I wouldn’t be able to get back. I have made some great connections on Instagram throughout the years that I am forever grateful for, what started out as a basic account 10 years ago grew into something else for me. I’ve had the opportunity to work with some amazing brands and promote small businesses, recently I worked on campaigns for St. Jude and the Leukemia Lymphoma Society which both are near and dear to my heart. To sum it up, I use my account as an outlet for a multitude of things.
DAMAGE CONTROL:
Just from me clicking that one link- the scammers were able to steal my identity, install malware on my phone, and shut down multiple of my social media accounts including the blog. The past couple weeks have been beyond stressful trying to clean up this mess, I can honestly say I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Fun fact: on average, it can take 100 to 200 hours over six months to undo identity theft. I’ve made roughly 35-40 customer service calls to various companies related to this the last couple weeks trying to get everything figured out. I took 2 days off of work, I went to Verizon 5 different times, the Apple genius bar 3 different times for appointments, and the Hennepin County government offices 4 times. The biggest thing I lost throughout all of this is my peace of mind, which is something I won’t be able to get back.
Things I’ve had to do:
- File a police report and a report with the FDC
- Replace all of my government issued IDs
- Get a new phone and erase majority of my data
- Verify my identity to all social media sites I have
- Freeze my credit with all 3 bureaus
- Shut down and then re-open my bank accounts
- Change 150+ passwords (I wish I was lying)
- Install Antivirus software on all my devices
It got to the point where I was so scared that I added another phone line on my cellular plan, and bought a second phone with a separate number. So yes, I now have 2 iPhones with 2 different numbers- I still have my cell number I’ve had since I was 12 on my main phone, I wasn’t willing to change that.
HOW I GOT MY ACCOUNT BACK:
When my main account got hacked I started reaching out to vendors and companies I work with to inform them what had happened. Amanda, the owner of Anti Organic CBD, one of the companies I recently collaborated with gave me the contact information for a guy named Juan who runs his own business recovering hacked Instagram accounts. He has helped countless influencers, companies, and public figures get back their accounts- with that being said, he isn’t easy to get in to because he has so many clients. I didn’t have much hope but I sent him a message, and after a week I finally got a reply. I explained to him what happened and he was willing to take my case on and try to help me despite how bad the situation was. He was so patient and understanding, he knew my frustration and ensured me that I would get my account back (I didn’t believe him at first). I submitted everything he asked for and was anxious waiting around to see what would happen. Monday night I was laying in bed and I rolled over to check my phone because I heard it ding, it was an email from Instagram. I opened it right away, and it said my account was no longer disabled and they apologized for the inconvenience. I would be lying if I said I didn’t burst into tears, 3 weeks of enduring hell and there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel. I would give Juan 5 stars but he deserves so much more than that, he did every single thing he promised to do. His website is http://www.juanr325.com and I will happily refer anyone to him that needs help, he charges a fee but it’s well worth it if you’re asking me. I was positive my account was gone for good, so I’m still in shock and I’m really grateful for Juan for helping me through this entire process.
I am keeping my account private for awhile and for the time being, I have removed my name from my profile. I am back to being the @the.artificial.blonde on Insta- I will still also be using my personal and backup account @dani.anastasiaaa for everyone who is on that profile.
TIPS & HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF:
After going though this I want to share some of the things I’ve learned, and what experts have taught/told me.
- Turn 2 Factor Authentication on every single app and website that offers it, this is extremely important to use
- Use an Authentication app for backup- I use the Microsoft one for my accounts and I like it
- At least twice a week shut down and restart your mobile phone, and make sure your software is always up-to-date
- When you receive emails, click the sender name and check the domain name to make sure it’s real
- Do not keep all of your passwords stored in your phone, consider buying a password book and writing them down. Yes this is a lot of work, but this was told to me from an Apple worker who has dealt with many cases like mine and it’s the most secure option. If your Apple ID gets compromised and all of your passwords are only stored in iCloud, you’re screwed.
- If you use WhatsApp, rethink it. WhatsApp is considered a safe and well-known messaging app, BUT being that the messages are encrypted it is very convenient for hackers to use it to their advantage. They can hack into your phone even just by you opening a picture or video they send you. Random fact: Jeff Bezos received a text message over WhatsApp from Saudi Arabian leader Mohammed bin Salman who was then able to hack his entire phone. Glad I’m not the only idiot.
- This is the last and by far the most important one: GET AN ANTIVIRUS PROGRAM!!! I never realized how important this was until now- I got Norton 360 and it monitors all my devices, my social media accounts, and all of my identity information. When I first downloaded it and did my first scan, it showed passwords and other personal information of mine that has been leaked throughout the years that I never even knew about. Norton helped me recover my identity when I reported the situation to them, and assisted in contacting the credit bureaus and banks. If you can afford a monthly gym membership or a subscription box, you can afford to invest in the protection of your identity. Order Chipotle one less time a month, you’ll survive and it’s worth it.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Going through this experience has truly been eye-opening, I have learned so many lessons and I’ve gained a lot of knowledge which in a sense I’m grateful for. I definitely look at social media different now- I think it can be a great tool with many benefits, but I also think it can be dangerous and holds a lot more value than it should. Only 55% of Instagram accounts are held by real people, which is alarming. I wanted to share my story to bring awareness to phishing scams and identity theft in hopes to help others prevent it from happening to them. These things are real and they happen way more than we realize, never in a million years did I think it would happen to me.
Lastly, to my hacker: If you’re reading this (which I’m sure you are) I hope you step on a bunch of legos, specifically the small ones that hurt.
I’m happy to be back
Until next time,
-D
