How do you stop a hacker on Instagram?
Hackers are getting smarter every day.
This means you also need to be smarter in detecting and preventing them.
This post teaches you how to detect, prevent, and prevent hackers from accessing your Instagram account.
By the end of the article, you should be able to easily stop hackers on Instagram.
Table of contents
- Types of scams
- Contact method
- How to detect a fake website
- How to prevent hackers on Instagram
- Conclusion
Types of scams
To prevent hackers, you need to know the different types of scams.
Here is a short list of common Instagram scams that you must be on the lookout for.
Fake website
The first type of scams are fake websites.
These hackers/scammers create fake websites that look exactly like the Instagram website.
Their goal is to get you to enter your login details on their website, which will then be sent to them.
This means that after you enter your login details (username, password), the website owner now has your login information.
This is also known as fraud.
If you fall victim to these scams, there’s not much you can do because hackers now have your username and password.
However, if you can still log into your Instagram account, be sure to change your password immediately.
This is the first type of scam you want to avoid.
Fake software and services
Next, you’ll want to avoid software and services that help you grow your Instagram followers that require your Instagram username and password.
Most of these software and services are illegal, provide fake followers and they can steal your login information.
There are hundreds of growth services on the internet like Fiverr.
Services on Fiverr often ask you to provide your Instagram username and password, which is not secure.
Some of these services may automate your account and add fake followers, which will negatively affect your engagement rate.
Others can steal your login information and change your password.
Finally, you shouldn’t share your Instagram password with anyone you don’t trust.
However, if you decide to use these growth services, make sure to check their background and reviews first.
Also, make sure to change your Instagram password once the service is complete.
Mobile Numbers and OTP Scams
If you get a direct message from someone saying they’ve lost your cell phone number and one-time password (OTP), don’t give it to them.
These scammers create fake accounts of your friends on Instagram and pretend as if they have lost your number and then ask for OTP.
These OTPs can be used for illegal purchases that will be charged to your mobile phone bill.
As a rule, you must never reveal your OTP to someone you don’t trust.
There are three ways you can check if the person is really your friend.
The first way is to ask your friend if the account belongs to them via text message.
Second, you can send a direct message to your friend’s main account on Instagram to double-check the other account’s identity.
Finally, you can ask the other account to send you a direct message using their main Instagram account to prove their identity.
Contact method
Basically, these hackers/scammers will contact you via your email (if you’ve added it to your profile) or by direct message.
They’ll then send you something that says, “Hi, we’ve detected some suspicious activity that suggests your Instagram account may be compromised. Don’t worry, we’ve taken measures to secure your account. Therefore, we need you to log in and confirm your account: (fake link)”.
After clicking the link, you will be redirected to a duplicate Instagram site.
Another common way of contacting you is to receive a fake email from someone pretending to be a member of the Instagram group.
The email will state that you have been given a verification badge and the last step you have to do is complete the form.
Instagram will never send these emails without asking for verification.
An easy way to determine if it’s a scam is to check the sender’s email address.
Just hover over or click the sender’s name to check their email address.
If the email looks like “[email protected]” then it is a fake email address.
A real Instagram email address will end with “instagram.com”.
How to detect a fake website
To detect if a website is fake, simply check the SSL certificate.
An SSL certificate is basically a ‘lock’ icon next to a website’s address.
It enables the security of sensitive data.
If the site doesn’t have an SSL certificate, avoid providing any sensitive information like your credit card or login details.
How to prevent hackers on Instagram
To prevent hackers on Instagram, you need to choose a strong password, revoke access to third-party apps/services, and avoid clicking on phishing links.
It’s also important to prevent unwanted tagging, enable two-factor authentication, keep your information private, and get a recovery code.
Because if you get hacked, Instagram support won’t be of any help to you.
They will either send you an automatic response or not get back to you at all.
This is because they receive too many messages and messages on a daily basis.
So their customer support is basically redundant.
Choose a strong password
A strong password prevents a brute force attack.
Simply put, a brute force attack is the act of guessing your password as many times as possible.
Most people probably think that a brute force attack rarely works.
However, brute force attacks are responsible for more than 100 million data breaches each year.
Check if your password is on the list of most common passwords.
If you have a password like ‘123456’ or ‘qwerty’ then it’s time to change it as it can be easily guessed by hackers.
A strong password is a password that consists of a combination of letters, numbers, punctuation, uppercase and lowercase letters.
Also, try changing your password every 90 days and don’t use the same password for every account.
Revoke access to third-party apps/services
Do this if you have previously signed up for growth services.
This is to ensure that third-party apps/services don’t have your credentials.
To revoke access to third-party apps/services, navigate to your Instagram profile on the desktop app, click settings, Apps and Websites, then click delete.
Do not click on deceptive links
Never click on any unwanted links.
With reference to the first few sections, you will need to do a background check before clicking on any links.
Is the person’s email address/account legitimate?
You must be extremely wary of links sent from people you do not know.
Also, some people may pretend to be someone you know.
Always double-check the person before clicking on the link they sent you.
Prevent unwanted tagging
Being tagged on Instagram can be a case of spam, so you might want to prevent people from doing so.
For that to happen, you need to manually approve the card.
Navigate to your profile, tap the hamburger menu in the top right corner of the screen, tap settings, then privacy, and in the engagements tap the tag, then flip the “Accept” button manual access” to on.
You can now manually approve tags whenever someone tags you on their post.
Alternatively, you can also completely disable others from tagging you by setting “Allow tagging from” to “None”.
This will prevent unwanted spam.
Turn on two-factor authentication on Instagram
It is highly recommended that you enable two-factor authentication on Instagram because whenever you try to log into your Instagram account on a new device, they will ask you for a code.
This makes it difficult for others to log into your account with another device.
For example, if one of your friends knows your password and decides to log into your account on their device, they won’t be able to log in.
This is because they need a second authentication, which is a code that will be sent to you via text message, email, or a two-factor authentication app.
If you have two-factor authentication turned on, it’s nearly impossible for anyone to access your account from another device.
Here’s how you can enable two-factor authentication on Instagram.
Navigate to the hamburger menu in the top right corner of your profile, go to settings, navigate to security, and under ‘Sign-in security’, there’s a ‘Two-Factor Authentication’ tab.
Keep your information private
To ensure that your account is always safe, do not share confidential information in your photos or captions.
Be very careful about what you share on Instagram.
You don’t want a stalker to know your exact location.
Not sharing other people’s information is fine.
Whenever you log into your Instagram account using a public device (domestic and overseas), be sure to sign out of your account after you’re done using it.
Otherwise, people will be able to access your account without your consent.
recovery code
Finally, you can get a recovery code.
These are disposable codes that you can use to get your Instagram account back in case you lose your current device.
You can also get these codes in the “Two-Factor Authentication” tab.
You only get 5 of these codes, so make sure you keep them in a safe place.
Conclusion
In short, how to stop hackers on Instagram?
To prevent hackers on Instagram, you need to be vigilant.
Never share your Instagram password with others.
Whenever you receive an email or direct message with a link, be sure to double-check the source of the email or user.
Check if the email is official email and ends with instagram.com. Otherwise, the email is phishing.
Trust your intuition if you think the email or text you receive is a scam because most of the time, you will be right.
Prevention is also super important.
You don’t want to wait until your Instagram account is hacked to find a solution. If you’re at this stage, it’s too late.
Make sure you have a strong password to prevent hackers from guessing.
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Author: Lim How Wei. Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain, a community that simplifies development and networking for Instagram users. Follow him on Instagram.
Categories: Social Media
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
