Instagram hackers may just have accessed your account and you did not even know

Security experts have warned billions of Instagram users that their accounts may already have been hacked. Know what you should do.

Your Instagram account can be at risk! Check the warning signs to look for. (Pixabay)

Instagram is a popular social media platform that offers a lot of features, entertainment, and all the latest trends from fashion, news to even memes! Meta-owned Instagram has a billion or more active users. But what if your favourite app has been hacked by someone! No matter whether you are an influencer, celebrity, or a common man, there is always a possibility that your account has been hacked! There is a myth that only those users with tens of thousands of followers are likely to get hit by hackers, but that is not the case. In fact, all users are vulnerable to hacking.

Once your Instagram account is hacked that means your personal data - such as email address, phone number, photos, videos and all the possible attached details with your account could be at risk. According to Tom Gaffney, a security expert at F-Secure, an Instagram account can even be hacked even when the hacker doesn't ask the user for money. That means, without letting you know, your account can be hacked! That is a terrifying, but true prospect. Here are some warning signs that you should look out for.

Warning signs to look out to know if your Instagram account has been hacked

• Check if there has been a change to your registered email or phone number with your social media account. Gaffney told Daily Record that hackers usually try to make you avoid getting any notifications.
• Check if your account has been logged into from any unknown device. If that happened, there is a clear sign of hacking!
• Always look out for the unusual activity linked to your profile. Let's take an example, such as if a lot of people got suspicious messages from an account or a lot of people spammed you suddenly.

How to protect your Instagram account

Step 1:

If you have noticed any suspicious activity linked to your account and you still have access to it, then the best will be to log in and change your password immediately. 

Step 2:

Ensure to choose a strong password to have more security which should have upper and lower cases letters, special characters, and numbers. 

Step 3:

Look out for the email from security@mail.instagram.com that alerts you about the change in your email address. With this, you can ‘Revert this change’ too.

Step 4:

If you have lost access to the account then go to the Hacked Accounts page via help.instagram.com and follow the instructions to recover your account.

Step 5:

You should also report to Instagram the activity.