Hacked Instagram Account – How To Recover it FAST in 2021

Hi lovely,

Welcome to my space. On a regular Saturday after house chores, I spend most of my day shooting and cooking.

Saturday March 28 2021 was very different, after cooking and cleaning, I snugged in on my sofa bed at 9:30 am editing and watching (listening to) The Bold Type on Netflix while also checking my DMs and emails frequently. I mean, I even placed a same day delivery ZARA order.

At about 5:30pm (17:30) I checked my emails and saw these;

an alert from instagram confirming a login via Windows · Firefox fromNew Malden, United Kingdom.

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The next were 3 emails from instagram stating my username and email had been changed and my phone number removed. Bottom right is my attempt at communicating back to IG after seeing my next 3 emails 😩.

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I had been hacked !

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My mind wandered to 2016 when this happened after I had clicked some link in my email. “..but I didn’t click nothing” I thought. I’d been literally editing all day for my YouTube channel . I mentioned this to my partner and immediately hoped on YouTube as my other accounts weren’t being of any assistance through their settings.

5 articles and 2 videos later, find below the relevant solutions to an instagram account hack (very dependent on your Operating System and the Level of Hack);

1. My Instagram Account has been Deactivated

—> https://help.instagram.com/contact/1652567838289083

this link should be used if your hacker hasn’t changed your user name, if you can find the new user name (via the instagram alert 🚨 email) or if your account was de-activated due to your breaking instagram rules.

ps: for the new username, ignore what you may see on instagram, get it from the email alert or act like you don’t have it.

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2. Using the Help Section on your Desktop

—> https://help.instagram.com/contact/272476913194545

as a safety guide and something that helped a few people, fill the form, check the box that says you’ve already tried the Help Center steps, even if you haven’t 🥰). People I had watched said they filled this form every 30 minutes or every 1 hour.

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3. Email the Instagram Security page

—> security@mail.instagram.com

not certain how crucial this step was but the person in funniest video I watched said they were extremely polite explaining what led to their hack etc. At this point, my emotions had a touch of anger so I wrote a few words and proceeded to read the next set of messages from my hacker .

€390??? At this point I compared them to kidnappers. I kept telling myself “we don’t negotiate with terrorists”.

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4. Talk to Facebook a Facebook Representative (fastest)

this has to be done through a page (business) and not just a Facebook account.

—> set-up a page if you don’t have one already (2 minutes max)

—> create an ad. I did one with a lifetime budget of £6. (Might as well promote my business while chasing hackers 😒)

—> go to the Business Help Centre using this link – https://www.facebook.com/business/help

—> on your phone, scroll down to Get Support

—> click ads

—> click Need more help? Contact Support

this should pop up

—> fill out to form with your issue being your inability to manage your ads due to a hacked instagram account.

—> the rep should be able to assist. Repeat form filling on the rare occasion that they don’t.

and voila !

Click and watch this for an amazing and clear guide on how to talk to a Facebook rep

Click and watch for a great tutorial on facebook ads

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my last solution and what worked for me within 1 hour 7 minutes (definitely not the least 🥰) is this one below;

5. “Need More Help”

On instagram follow the ese steps;

—> log in page

—> enter a username or a phone number

—> click Forgotten Password

—> click Need More Help

this is the saving click. I had tried this process earlier but it kept taking me to the Account Assistance page. Once I clicked it – Need More Help – this time, it led me to a the Request Support page.

I filled my details (using my email I linked to my instagram account and then a different email for correspondence just incase the hackers had access to my instagram email) and submitted. Did this again using my instagram email on correspondence as well. 🤷‍♀️

This was followed by the most unprofessional email..

This was at 16:58.

At 19:47 I got the verification instruction email with code

Mug shot on deck, I emailed them an instant response

9 minutes after the Verification email, the Reset Password email came – at 19:58

I logged out of my business iphone and kitchen ipad, clicked the reset link on my regular phone. I was asked to use the username the hackers had changed my handle to for a password reset (instagram provided this username).

This process took me through 3 password changes as due to the change of username, deletion of phone and change of email. My hackers were Ukraine based according to the instagram emails.

Although most videos felt the 4 way with business page and ads creation was more straightforward, I preferred this 5th method.

Going forward avoid these;

– clicking links – if a possible client isn’t sending you their website name or instagram handle, be careful

– providing your details to anyone – never !

– I am also currently considering opening a p.o box so that items are not sent directly to my home

– feel free to comment with any other safety measures.

Being hacked is such a tummy sinking feeling one I don’t wish on anyone hence my making this post and video.

Enjoy getting back into your account and have an amazing life. Let’s link safely on instagram, @metrogypsie.

To the hackers, there are so many much kinder ways to utilise your skills 🥂

xxox