Hacked Instagram Account Being Used in Phishing Scam

Some Instagram users have reported that an elaborate phishing scam is making its way across the platform. The scam comes from a message sent from ‘The North Face Chile’ account, who sends a private message to users warning them that they have infringed an image’s copyright. The private message tells users that they must fill out a form or risk having their account suspended.

This specific phishing scam tried to acquire the victims’ Instagram and email account information, which can then be used to access other information such as a user’s banking information.

The North Face confirmed to DPReview.com that The North Face Chile’s Instagram account had been hacked and used to send the phishing messages. The North Face Chile (@thenorthfacechile), currently does not have access to their account, but has reported the breach to both Facebook and Instagram and are awaiting further instruction.

The scam message explains to users that they need to “provide feedback” to the message or their account will be suspended within 24 hours. The user is then directed to “InstagramHelpNotice.com”, a website that initially appears to be a legitimate Instagram site.

When the user arrives at the site, they are asked to enter their Instagram username and their password. Once the users enters their credentials, they are then prompted to enter their email address and their email password. Instagram will never ask for a user’s personal email information, but another giveaway that this website is a scam is the fact that the website spells ‘address’ as ‘adress’.

It was discovered on WHO.is that the domain for the phishing site users are being redirected to was registered on June 9, 2020. The registrant information is private, however the site suggests that the scam likely originated from Russia.

If you receive a message from Instagram users asking for any of your login credentials, notifying you of copyright violations, or redirecting you to third-party websites, they should be ignored and reported.

Story via DPReview.com