Scams are evolving throughout the times.
Last time, it was a Chinese lady telling you that you’re accused of smuggling chickens into China.
Then, it became emails with bad English telling you that you’ve done something wrong, directing you to a phishing site.
And now, it has evolved into hostage situations.
Air Stewardess Paid $550 to Hackers After IG Account Was Compromised But Still Didn’t Get Back Her Account
On 3 May 2020, it was reported that an air stewardess with a huge IG following of 200,00 had her account hacked.
She received an email on 25 Mar 2020, accusing her of copyright infringement and it looks legitimate.
She was then directed to a webpage to write an appeal against the charge.
Thinking nothing of it, she proceeded to fill in the form, including her account username, email and password.
Then, Shit Hits The Fan
A day later, she received an email from Instagram (the real one) asking her to verify changes made to her account.
Again, thinking nothing of it, she approved the changes.
It was only later when she realised that her account was hacked, with the email for her IG account changed to the hacker’s email.
She received a WhatsApp message from the hacker later, asking her for $550 or they would delete all of her images and sell her account away to others.
Her IG account is an important part of her life. It’s a way for her to keep in touch with families and friends and contains her many years of efforts in gaining fans.
So she immediately paid the money to the hacker.
But instead of returning the account to her, the hacker returned with a demand for more money and asked her to send some intimate photos as well.
Police Report Lodged, IG Account Restored
Following the increased demands, she lodged a police report immediately. The police confirmed that a police report of the incident has been lodged and investigations are now underway.
Thankfully, she managed to regain access to her account after asking for help from Instagram (the real one this time).
She said that she’d checked online and found that this is a new type of scam.
The scammers are extremely professional and she cautioned that one should never fill in any personal information, nor pay the hackers any money.
Moral of the story: Don’t pay, just ask the platform for help if needed.
Some Tips To Avoid Getting Scammed
Other than not filling in personal information and not paying anything because these scammers will not return whatever they’re holding hostage, here are some other useful tips:
- Don’t click on suspicious URLs provided in the email, no matter how legit it looks. Because most times, we are on our mobile which means the URL is hidden, what you can do is to long-press on the URL provided and “Copy link address”, paste it to a notepad and check out what the URL says.
- When you receive an email prompting you to verify changes, it means changes have been made. If you did not make any changes, check before you press “confirm”. It’s like you will always check the receipt for items at the restaurant before giving your card for payment.
- Never fill in any personal information until after you’re sure you’re not on a phishing site (refer to point 1)
For those who are curious about what’s happening on the other end of the screen, here’s a video by a guy who managed to hack into a scam centre in India: