Hundreds of Instagram users report falling prey to similar account hack

Screenshot from Chris Woznicki, one of the victims of this new Instagram hack

A bizarre hack seems to be hitting Instagram users this month with users getting logged out and their personal details changed. The users discover their accounts being signed out, their handles and profile photos changed (often to a Disney or Pixar character), bios deleted, and the accounts are now linked to an .ru email address (a Russian domain). Most of the people Mashable talked to did not have two-factor authentication turned on, but one said he had it enabled but it was disabled and his account was still hacked. Aside from changing personal information, the hackers don’t seem to be posting or removing any photos from the accounts. No one seems to be claiming the hack just yet.

The difficulty for those hacked though is that it’s more difficult to get back into their accounts with the changed personal details. And it seems Instagram’s largely automated process of trying to get back into the accounts prove to be inadequate. Abagail Nowak, one of the victims of the hack describes it as a “maze.” She says, “The maze that Instagram sends you on to get your account back is laughable and leads to broken/dead links and emails from robots which lead nowhere.” Instagram hasn’t responded to requests for comments on the hack but we’ll report back when we hear more.

Source: CNET