I WAS HACKED!! ..Now What?!

So your Instagram account has been hacked, and someone from a foreign country is demanding payment in order for you to regain access.  Now what?  All your hard work is gone, just like that?  No!  Not if you act quickly.  PLEASE READ, for important information & a simple way to protect your Instagram account from being hacked.

The Rundown

At 8am I woke up to text messages from concerned friends asking what happened to @kittenkb_shops.  A little worried, but not really knowing the extent of the damage I continued my daily routine.  Up next, email (influencer life.)  Thats when I realized what the f*** had happened while I was asleep.  These are the e-mails I received, in order:

• INSTAGRAM: New login from Firefox on Windows
• INSTAGRAM: Username changed on Instagram
• INSTAGRAM: Email changed on Instagram
• JOH JOH: Instagram account hacked!

I immediately clicked the "secure account" link in the e-mails from Instagram.. it didn't work.  Later, I found out this is because the hacker blocked my account, so I was untraceable.  Without my email and password, this link was useless.  After reading the email from Joh Joh, the panic set in. 

According to him, if I didn't respond in two hours, all my hard work -- followers, contacts, pictures -- will be deleted. ..& the hacker actually had the audacity to apologize for "this access."  Thanks, buddy.

What Next?

That is when I knew I had to act, and had to act fast.  If you find yourself in this situation, there are two things you need to do.  In this particular order:

1.) Contact Facebook - the graphic below shows you how to do so.  You will be prompted to send them an email, explaining what happened.  Use an email that is not associated with your instagram.  They asked me to send them a picture of me holding up a piece of paper with a code they sent me.  After the confirmed it was me, they sent me a link with step by step instructions to recover your account.  You need to change your password & email quickly, because if the hacker still has access to your account, they will be notified of the changes.

2.) Contact the hacker -  Once I opened the email, the "countdown" began.  I didn't know if this was true, but I didn't want to risk it.  The Joh Joh told me I need to send him $265 bitcoin, in order to have my Instagram handle returned to me.  To buy time, I acted dumb - pretending not to know what bitcoin is or how to use it once I "create an account" with one of the websites he provided.  I also asked for proof my account was still in tact.  He sent me the below screenshot, & that is when I found out someone in Russia had access to my personal information ..so scary!

Facebook got back to me the following morning, and luckily my account was still in tact.  I made sure I had a good internet connection and the time to switch my info, before clicking the link.  I don't know if the hacker was monitoring my account, but I got it back! 

Protect Your Account:

People legit stink sometimes, but I was a sitting duck.  One simple step would have prevented this from happening - two factor authentication.  Follow the steps below to turn yours on.

Have a similar experience or some helpful info?  Tell me about it in the comments below.  Need further assistance?  Feel free to reach out to me on IG @katherinemarie.shops.  Don't forget to subscribe to my blog, so you never miss a post.