The Police has recently received a large number of complaints regarding suspicious password interception messages on Social Media and especially on Instagram. Complaints are investigated by the Cybercrime Directorate.
This time, the crooks have somehow hacked the profile of someone who is in your contacts (i.e. you follow them and they follow you) and message you, pretending they want to ask you for a favor.
The new scam on Instagram
"I'm running for an ambassador position in an online influencer program, you can vote for me," reads the message from our alleged friend.
The above proposition is quite believable, however things get complicated when our scammer… announces that he will send us the voting link via sms!
If we make the mistake of giving out our number, or even worse, clicking on the link that will be sent to us, the balance can be lost, as well as the money from one of our accounts or the passwords from our phone.
In another case, according to the Police, various users via social networking receive a message, either electronic or by phone, which asks them to send him a screenshot of a message they received and includes a link, allegedly to help their acquaintance regain access to their social media account, such as Instagram.
These messages are malicious, with the aim of gaining access to the recipient's own account through this link. With this method, the hackers gain access to various user accounts, which they then use to trick other unsuspecting users.
Police advise the public to be especially careful in such messages and not to reveal passwords and passwords that it receives to any person, even if it's apparently an acquaintance.
In case of receiving a suspicious message / request, to communicate in a different way and another means of communication with the person from whom he received the message to confirm the request.
In case of sending the link, it is recommended to immediately check and change the account password.
To protect against this type of online fraud, the public is advised to enable two-factor security settings for their electronic accounts.
It is noted that the Electronic Crime Directorate receives approximately 200 complaints per day, which concern Instagram account breaches.