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Instagram scam

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
So, I just got an email warning me that there was an unauthorized login to my Instagram account. It is indeed a phishing attempt, as per this
Instagram Phishing Emails Use Fake Login Warning Baits

The attempt comes as an email that looks very much like it comes from Instagram and which directs you to what looks very much like an Instagram page, where it asks you to enter your password to continue.

The first warning sign was "We Noticed a New Login, elskipknox"

You see what they did there? They somehow picked up that there's an E.L. Knox and there's a Skip Knox, and they've concatenated them. But I've never had an account called elskipknox. And the page to which I was redirected looks mostly but not exactly like an Instagram page.

I really dislike Instagram, and this scam gives me another reason to dislike them. I tried to find a place to report this behavior. Guess what? There's nowhere. FB puts any non-standardized help so deep behind layers of pages, I simply gave up. I really don't care how much the platform is being used. It has obviously been hacked successfully, provides virtually no reassurance or support to its users.

I'm out.
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
If the scam is spreading by email, usually you'd report it to your email provider. Nothing is happening on the Instagram platform until they already have your password from their mimic site, so there isn't anything they can do to stop it beyond their basic account hacking protocol. But your email provider can track who's sending it, block future emails, block the link from appearing in their system, and so on, then report that data to authorities.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
I've never used Instagram simply because I don't own a smart phone—rather useless to me and an unnecessary expense. But I have stuck with Tumblr, the poor man's Instagram, so to speak.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
If the scam is spreading by email, usually you'd report it to your email provider. Nothing is happening on the Instagram platform until they already have your password from their mimic site, so there isn't anything they can do to stop it beyond their basic account hacking protocol. But your email provider can track who's sending it, block future emails, block the link from appearing in their system, and so on, then report that data to authorities.
Indeed. This was a pretty common problem at my old job. Scammers sent emails to the customers and told them something about their account having been hacked, or that they'd won a magic pony or something and urged them to log in and claim their prize or verify their account details. All of that was happening outside of our control, and the only thing we could really do was tell people how to be on the lookout, how to spot phishing mails, and help them get their accounts back after they gave away their account details.

That said, I had a look at Instagram's support site, and it's not a pretty sight.
What's happening there is they have more customers, with more issues than they're able to provide support staff for. As such, they're trying to push as many as possible to use self-help resolutions on their support site. A lot of the more common issues are automated, and can be resolved by the customers on their own as long as they know what to look for and follow the instructions.
The problem with that is that most customers aren't used to using these self-help systems, and they don't know what they're looking for, so they never find the instructions. That's why there are so many stories of people who got their accounts hacked and never were able to get them back.

The IG support site seems particularly bad. It's just a wall of text and there's nothing friendly, encouraging, or reassuring about it. The instructions for what to do if your account is hacked basically says to click some buttons and wait for instructions in the mail - not very nice.
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Yes, what Svrtnsse said. I was just so put off by what I saw for IG support, it pushed me over the edge from indifference to active dislike.
 

RodolfoChokri

New Member
You should be careful about who you talk to on Instagram. I had a similar situation when I first created my Instagram account. Someone offered me the opportunity of buying likes for a low price. Being inexperienced in this field, I accepted the proposal. But apparently, it was a scam because I did not receive any likes. Luckily now I've become more experienced. I've realized that I have to find reliable platforms.
 
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