Getting one of your social media channels hacked isn’t anything new these days however it doesn’t make it less frightening whenever that happens. Recently my Instagram account got compromised and you bet that made me crazy even though I know I’m the one to blame for not having a secure enough password. I’ll detail how it happened and how I recovered it in this blog post.
I use Instagram a lot as it’s as personal to me as my Facebook account. In case you’re not following me yet, I love to post food pictures, headphones and things that I’m up to. Most of the things that I do online outside of my work-stuff are mostly personal so there really isn’t any business purpose or value for the account.
How it all unfolded
Everything started when I woke up one day and realized I have plenty of ‘request to follow’ notifications on my phone from my IG account which was weird since my account is public. I was gobsmacked when I found that the account logged-in became ‘janaehumbert99ft’ having a profile picture of a fat butt and a description that clearly baits perverts to follow the account and click the suspicious bio link.
I panicked immediately since my work Instagram account was also logged-in on the phone and I feared that it might get compromised too so I decided to just log out everything. My worst fears were realized when I found that the email address associated to my Instagram account had read emails about changing the account’s password and email address. This meant the hacker not only changed everything on my IG account through having access to my email, but possibly all other sites where it is the main email address (there’s a lot!).
Like any sane person would do, I changed the password of my email immediately and made sure it’s a tough one. I went back to my Instagram case and wrote them detailing everything through this page. At this point, I didn’t have any ideas as to what happened to my account. The way I explained was I thought my account was replaced with another account on my email address, then changed the email address, and then later on deleted my original Instagram account. So to summarize, my email did not have any IG account associated to it anymore since the hacker successfully was able to transfer it to a different email.
After some hours on the same day I was hacked, the new IG account named ‘janaehumbert99ft’ also disappeared which made me think the hacker might have renamed it to something else anew so it become untraceable for me. Another possibility that I thought of was Instagram disabling the account while investigating the issue.
Painful experience with Instagram Support
It was surprising that Instagram was slow and unhelpful at the beginning, oftentimes not understanding the issue at hand. It took 4 and a half days before I got a reply that made me think I’m not close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
They made me write a code, my full name, email address and previous username on a piece of paper, then take a picture of that with me holding it. It sounded weird but I understood that it’s how they could really verify me and my claims.
Instagram support replied after a couple of hours saying my account has been reactivated again. Whew! Problem finally solved right? No!
I still couldn’t login, couldn’t reset password since the email was still not associated to any account and I couldn’t do anything! I emailed them back with that and they replied with almost just the same message which is ‘we have reactivated your account again, sorry about that’. But I still couldn’t login!!!
Much to my dismay I discovered that the account ‘janaehumbert99ft’ has been reactivated again and my friends started telling me that they’re seeing my photos under someone else’s account. Two things became clear to me then.
First was the ‘janaehumbert99ft’ account is really my previous Instagram account. It was just renamed but that’s my account. Remember at the beginning that I was under the impression my original account was swapped out and deleted but it didn’t seem to be the case.
Second was they simply reactivated the account using the same credentials, same email which I didn’t have access with! WTF!!! I got so pissed off because that only makes the hacker do more harm since the account has been reactivated again and more importantly, he can access it again. I was under his mercy basically as he can rename it, change the email and make it untraceable, or worse, start posting nude pictures or what have you and start alienating my followers! So stupid Instagram!
I sent successive replies explaining what I explained above but I did not get a reply on the same and the following day. I got a little worried that I might not be doing myself a favor as I might come across as annoying to whoever is handling my case.
I’ve decided to then just write a new report using the page I linked above. There I explained everything again carefully and made sure it didn’t become too long. It’s a little risky since I thought that could essentially restart my case again and then add up another week to it. Urgghh!
When I was explaining, I mentioned briefly that someone was already handling my case but I was not happy with how it’s being handled. I gave the supporter’s name so the new supporter can hopefully coordinate with him. I still summarized my case in my report and included my realizations that were not there the first time I reported the issue. I tried my best to keep everything not too long but still clear.
After more than 12 hours, a new support person from Instagram replied and much to my delight, it was the reply I was expecting to get from their previous support person. I finally got a link where I can change the password of the account and once I’m able to do that, I proceeded with changing the email back to one that I can access and then swapping back my own details like my username, description and website. Finally I changed the profile picture from the fat girl’s butt to my pretty face. I can’t believe I have my Instagram account back again!
What happened next was I unfollowed a lot of people since the hacker’s strategy seemed to be following lots of male accounts and then get them to follow back or click the suspicious bio link that could get them hacked. I got a minor boost in followers count which subsided down once they realized they’re following an account that was not what they thought it would be.
What to learn from this
There’s plenty to learn from this experience and all of them are unfortunately very basic which we just ignore until we become a victim. I changed all my passwords to a more secure one, enabled two-factor authentication whenever available, and made sure I’m aware what accounts are connected to what emails.
The funny but slightly annoying thing is I could’ve easily just gotten my account back had I not logged out of it on my phone. I could’ve gotten into the settings, changed my password, email and bio and I didn’t have to go through the whole draining process at all.
But if that happened, I’m pretty sure there’s a good chance I won’t change my passwords, make my email addresses more secure, you name them! I would then just be delaying the inevitable.
Not sure I can say right now the learning experience was worth it but hey, my accounts are more secure now, I have my IG back and that’s all that matters! 🙂
Hi,
your input was very helpful . if u any facing Instagram related problem .your blog will help in solving their problem .thanks for sharing nice information
Woah! Its honestly helpful article in those who using instagram.
Glad to know that you were able to recover your Instagram account.
Thank you as well for sharing your experience because now I know what to do (not to logout of out of my Instagram account from my device) in case this happens to me.
Thank you so much for sharing this is really helpful info as I’ve just encountered the same issue this morning! My case is a little bit tricky, as I manage to change my username back but I wasn’t quick enough to change my email & password. When I was about to click ‘confirm to change’ my email back, the link kept showing error. Currently I’m still waiting for the reply from the insta support team, and hopefully they will have good news for me by tomorrow!
Good thing you recovered your instagram from being hacked.
I still have this problem. My account was hacked two days ago. And I still don`t have access to it. My name is changed, my password, my email. Everything…… I am still waiting for answer from the insta support team. I asked my friends to report it…. if I can`t get it back I hope they will shut down the profile.
Double wow 🙂 … Your article is really helpful .. Thanks a lot sir for sharing this tips..
What link is it? Please? I badly need it. ? my @itsmesuperbien account was hacked. I did not even logged it out from my device. Please help me retrieve my Instagram. That account has been with me since 2013. I am so deppressed right now.
Same happened to me
But how have you contacted the onsta support, i can’t found any emails or link
It’s a very nice post,Thanks for sharing informative information with us
Happened to me last night, had to send my picture with the hand written codes and all and now still waiting for the support team to feedback 🙁
I have been hacked 3x on my Instagram account. I changed the password , but they still got right back in. I use it for my Interior Design business and I kept it a Public account. I shut down the 2 accounts and now I can’t get into the last account I set up. I’ve contacted Instagram many times and I’m furious!! They haven’t gotten back to me. I want to recover my account. I will try to follow your advise. It’s very frustrating to be hacked by a Russian email address !!
Did you finally get your account back Nadzirah? My account was just hacked today, I’ve changed all my passwords, but they changed my username, password and have total control of my business account and all my posts. I’m devastated as I use IG for business. I’m hoping you got your account back-IG hasn’t responded to my report.
good evening. im asking for your help. pleaseeee 🙁 can you send me the link where you can change the password and change the email because im so worried that this might happen to me. my account got hacked and like what your hacker did to your account, he/she changed my name, username, email and of course password. he also removed all my infos. i am afraid he/she might post nudes in my profile. pls help meee :(((( i dont know what to do
Hello, My account was hacked yesterday. The hacker changed my username. And when I’ve tried to open my account using the new username and tried to forgot password, they automatically send an email to an unknown email address. I’ve tried reporting the problem to instagram and like you they’ve asked me to send a photo of me holding a paper with the code they’ve sent plus my username and email address. A few minutes they’ve replied saying they can’t help me with my problem.
My account got hacked again. I was able to retrieve the first time using a SMS reset link but now even my phone number was changed. I have no way to retrieve the username, email and phone number that was used since the hacker changed it all. Do you think I can still retrieve it?
The same thing happened to me and i have sent them everything. It is ridiculous how long it takes for them to respond. I’m in Australia right now and I used Instagram to contact a lot of the Australians I have been meeting. It cost to much to text and call with my American number. This is the worst time for this to happen and Instagram is not being helpful at all. I sent them a picture and everything, but still no response. I had a difficult password also so I’m not sure how I got hacked. Hopefully they respond soon but from reading everyone’s experience It seems like that’s very unlikely.?
I’ve been hacked by a Russian as well, same with my sbcglobal email. Instagram hasn’t been replying so let me know how you regain access to your account please!
Why is instagram so unsecured. I have never had a problem with anything getting hacked. I just started with instagram a week ago and my account email username and password has been changed twice. Ifor it happens again I will delete it and never use it again.
Man them mf just hacked me!!! Let me know what happend in your situation
Same thing happened to me. I am currently waiting for a reply from Instagram. They’ve requested the picture, Id #, username and email which I sent this morning and still no reply from them. I’m really surprised how slow they are at getting these issues resolved. The hacker has changed my username, password and email.
About a month ago my IG was hacked for the first time and they changed my username. I was still able to login with my email and change everything back.
I always stay logged in but both times this happened when I opened IG I was logged out! Now I know when I’m logged out, someone probably changed something and hacked my friggin account. So frustrating!
I got hacked in December and have almost given up…I can’t get any help except for: “we can’t help because you did not give us the information we requested” I am ready to scream, I don’t KNOW THE PASSWORD they used!!! They hacked my account! I can’t even take my account down!
did you ever get it resolved? this just happened to me last night, i can’t get on and see anything. they’ve changed everything… i got the email about the code and everything and i sent it and have not heard anything back. getting really frustrated.
I’m going through the same thing you went through but it’s been this entire weekend. Is there any way you can contact me directly and help me through this process?
I just been hacked by russian email as well with profile picture of big fat ass girl!
I report this to instagram but when i saw the respond, i’m curious of its validity. Below is the email;
info+j1yaqaja.aeaurweakq@support.instagram.com
n asked me to do the same as yours.
Please reply to this email and attach a photo of yourself holding a hand-written copy of the code below.
XXXXXX (i can’t showed it here)
Please make sure that the photo you send:
– Includes the above code hand-written on a clean sheet of paper, followed by your full name and username
– Clearly shows both the code and your face
– Is attached to your reply as a JPEG file
Keep in mind that even if this account doesn’t include any pictures of you or is used to represent someone or something else, we won’t be able to help until we receive a photo that meets these requirements.
Is this what u get as well from instagram help center?
The same exact thing happened to me on Saturday and I have yet to get a response from Instagram. The account is now deactivated and I have no access to it at all. I sent the email with the picture of myself with the code and still nothing. I keep following up, but I have no idea how long it’ll take them to respond. How long did it take for you?
Same thing has happened to me, very frustrating. How did you contact them? And how did they respond? I’ve tried via email but it bounces back and I’ve read to send a message on Facebook but I don’t think they’ve received it and I’ve also tried the help support link but every time I try you have to be logged into Facebook but the hackers took my link between my accounts away, so I can’t do anything and the help link doesn’t process properly. Any ideas?
Yesterday i woke up to find i couldnt get into my insta account and when i requested a password change it was being sent to an unknown email address with .ru on the end. I contacted insta support after 3 hours they told me to send a picture holding a piece of paper with a code on it. Almost 12 hours later i get a reply with them telling me to use this link to change my password however once i did that my insta needed to be verified by code which would be sent to the hacker not me seeing how they changed my insta email address. So ive contacted them yet again and i have had no response yet so frustrating idk how they dont understand what the problem is when i’ve detailed it out in my email, the support really is crap same with the security on instagram.
Hello,
My account was hacked and I went through the steps to report it. Instagram sent me an email, with instructions to take a photograph of myself, with the code, username and full name. However the email address does not look legitimate. Does this format look right to you? info+jccevfcs.aea27mrpdy@support.instagram.com.
I went and did this three times, and I still get the same email with a similar layout.
Shouldn’t it say support@instagram.com?
Thanks for your help
Soph
Hello,
My account was hacked and I went through the steps to report it. Instagram sent me an email, with instructions to take a photograph of myself, with the code, username and full name. However the email address does not look legitimate. Does this format look right to you? info+jccevfcs.aea27mrpdy@support.instagram.com.
I went and did this three times, and I still get the same email with a similar layout.
Shouldn’t it say support@instagram.com?
Thanks for your help
Soph
You’re so lucky!
I wish I can get my instagram account back like you. I’m so worry because maybe the hacker is someone who like a negative content. It’s the first time I’ve been hacked. I also sent the requested picture to Instagram Team and still unreply from them.
Hello,
My instagram account has been hacked,
It did happen once, a month ago, but i had lucky to get it back, cause i could still log in in. I didn’t care much since i don’t have many followers, mostly friends, so i didn’t report the issue, thinking that the hacker would just pass me.
Unfortunately, it happend again, same hacker, since i can tell by the username he/she have changed. This time turned serious, he/she deleted all my photos, and replace them with his/her photos.
I used my friend’s account to trace my hacked account by clicked tagged name on my friend’s photos that my face was in. So even the hacker deleted all my photos you can still tell it’s my account by checking tagged photos. But i fear the hacker will untag them soon so i cant trace this account anymore.
This account is now renamed as goldaburch.76
But the first time i tried to log in to my account it was automatically appear as rysyfohu56203, anyone got the similar? Hacker is from Russia, i believe .
All photos was posted by the hacker 3 days ago, since he/she deleted all mine.
can i be able to recover all the photos the hacker deleted once i get my account back?
I just got hacked today. I’m really pissed! I can’t believe this crap but I hope I can get some assistance.
Same I got hacked yesterday and they told me to send them a pic of me holding a piece of paper with my name and all that but after I sent it they still haven’t got back to me today
When you contacted IG the 2nd time, did you reply to the email they sent you or did you open up another request in the IG help center? I was sent a link to recover my account but it is still the wrong account. So I am debating if i should go to the ig help center or reply to the email where i sent the “mug shot”
Hi Kassy, I just replied to the email from them.
I was hacked about 24 hours ago. I sent the code and picture to instagram and they got back to me on a weekend within 24 hours. I got a link and could reset the password BUT you MUST go into your settings and change your email (you should be able to see the hacker’s email). It looks like they didn’t delete any photos o send any weird messages to my contacts so I was happy about that. This is the loser hacker’s email by the way barkalaya1988@mail.ru
Thanks for sharing your own experience Eric. I’m happy to hear that they’re getting better at responding faster but still I hope they would make Instagram more secure to prevent these from happening as it happens quite a lot it seems.
I got hacked by a Russian too. Now I’m struggling to get my account back
Hi I just found out I have been hacked by a russian email ending in .ru they changed my email as well and I can’t access….I started getting following notifications wich is weird because my account is private so no one can follow me if I don’t give them “permission” but I never though I was being hacked. Today I got in the app to check my instagram and I got logged out, tried to log in with email and nothing, so I asked for the link to change my password and I got a message that the email was sent to that .ru email…
I am trying to get in touch with instagram, I sent them the picture of the email message and the one they asked (code written on a piece of paper) but I am waiting. The worst part is that I use instagram to be connected with family and friends because I live abroad and I have pictures of my 2 year old son in my account which is why I have it private. I hope I can fix this soon….
hey, it did to me as well this night. what is IG email address to contact them?
My account has been hacked by a russian hacker/email as well. Something like s*******@m***.ru
Received the instagram email with instructions as well, hope they can help me.
I am in exactly same situation today. I used my account today in the morning. By the the lunch time i am hacked. Now my recovery email is supposed to be *******.ru . I am from south asia and using gmail. I already send them the picture with code and others and still waiting. Bit annoyed instagram doesn’t have better system like gmail does. I will try to update if anything changes.
This happened to me last night!! It’s been 30 hours and instagram has yet to get back to me after I had replied their email 🙁
Also, the sucker who hacked my account has just changed my username AGAIN. I tried to sign in by typing the username and clicking “reset password”, and they told me that a link to reset my password has been set to an email, and the loser’s email resembles your hacker!! It’s different, of course, but ends with @mail.ru as well.
Really hope that Instagram will get back to me soon!! You’re so lucky!!
exact same thing happened to me! I am in the process of waiting to hear back after sending the picture. I also dm’d my hacked account from a secondary account asking for it back lol. I was hacked by a .ru email too. so frustrating!!!
Has anyone gotten a reply back from Instagram sending a photo of yourself to them? I got hacked by a Russian as well. Email address ending in .ru. I am severely pissed. Reading all the FB comments, Instagram don’t seem to care. It looks like they haven’t changed anything… but I can’t see as my account is private. Plus, they changed my phone number too. What kind of stupid system allow you to change email address without confirmation??
Any luck? I am in the same situation.. logged out of my account, tried to send a link to reset password but it was sent to an email address ending in ..ru. This hacker figured out my password, changed the associated email on the account essentially hijacking the account and blocking me from it… they changed the name, bio, and profile picture.. now they started following over 6000 people and 70 or so new creepers have started following these public scantly bikini pictures they have posted (and can see all of my older posts that used to be on private!)
It is really frustrating, I don’t care if my account gets permanently deleted as long as my pictures aren’t out the for others to look at or use! If I can’t control my pictures, neither should this hacker!
Hi, my instagram got hacked by someone from turkey. Instagram asked me to change my password and I did, but then I immediately got logged out! The problem is I cannot verify my account because I signed up with a fake email not my real one. I did the code and full name thing yesterday but they still haven’t responded! Should I give up?
Hi
I have also been hacked by a Russian email address; they have changed the username, email and password so I am completely blocked out, my friends can still see it as it is a private account but they haven’t posted anything just changed the name to an English person and now a German! I am really annoyed as I can’t get a response from Instagram and it is a very complex process just to report it. At the point where I just want it back or have it shut down. I just don’t understand how it can be hacked?! Have changed all my passwords for everything else, has anyone had a response and a resolution?
My account had been hacked twice and then taken down by Instagram for violating community guidelines of which I am completely unaware of.
I would really appreciate some useful advice as to how my account can be recovered.
Thank you
Julia