A week ago, my Instagram @foreignersintw was hacked. Someone stole the password, changed the email, and added their own authentication app, so I was unable to log in. Luckily, I was able to contact Meta Support and resolve the issue. Here is the full story.
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- Best time to visit: Spring and Autumn when it is not too hot or cold and less rainy
- How to get there: Plane tickets via Trip.com
- Best places to stay can be found on Agoda
- Book tours and activities in Taiwan on Klook
- Stay connected with a local SIM
- Rent a car to explore distant sights
Getting Hacked
First, I should say that my Facebook Page was hacked about two years ago. That took a much longer time to get back. For the full story on that one, check out our blog on how it got hacked here and how we got it back here.
Having a popular Facebook page with lots of fans puts you on a target list for getting hacked. That is just the way it is.
I think the hackers got my password from a Google password leak. I knew that the leak had existed for a long time. Instagram gave me a notification a few years ago that I needed to change my IG password, and I did. However, recently, I accidentally wiped my old phone, and I needed to log in to Instagram again. I forgot which password I set, so I clicked on “forgot my password” and set up a new password, but it happened to be the same one as the original password. A few days later, I suddenly realized that I could not log in to my account.
I got this message that said that another device had logged in, and I needed that device to okay my login.
I had already linked my IG to WhatsApp and my phone number, but that was not enough. At every turn, IG told me to enter in the 2FA code from an authenticator app, which I did not have.
I was still able to get IG codes sent to my email, but when I tried to log in, I was still stuck at the 2FA wall.
I was able to get to this screen from my personal FB account in the accounts manager. I tried to unlink the current hacker via accounts center, but I was again asked for a password and 2FA code, which required me to have access to the hacker’s email, which is clearly shown here: kerrisiegel1943@collectivluque.com
Another login page leading me back to the hacker’s email.
Getting Help From Meta
After trying all the ways I knew how to log in, I decided I needed to talk to Meta. Originally, I contacted Meta through my FB page because I have a verified FB account. They were not IG experts and just referred me to the IG help pages, which were no help at all.
I made a case with Meta, and this was their reply:
I replied to the email above and then got this reply:
I decided to try out the video selfie. One of the login screens allowed me this option, once you run out of other options.
I tried the video selfie about 10 times, half the time not being able to upload the video.
The five times the video upload was successful, it couldn’t verify my identity. I have very few selfies on the FiTW IG account. But I uploaded some using Meta Business Suite. I could still post during this time because my FB Page was still tied to my IG account via Meta Business Suite.
Next, I decided to use Meta Verified Support Chat on Instagram to help solve the video selfie problem. I signed up for that, which was only 49 NT (1.5 USD) for the first month, and then cancelled the plan. Since they probably know more about Instagram, I figured they would be able to solve the issue. This was their response:
The internal team got back to me within 24 hours.
The internal team told me to try to log in again with this link: http://instagram.com/hacked
I had to open the link from my phone. Since I had a new phone, I did not remember which phone I used originally to sign up. That was my biggest mistake.
When I used my old phone to click the link, I was taken directly to this screen to ask me for a text message.
Luckily, the hacker had not changed any of the phone numbers connected to the account.
I was easily able to get an SMS text code and log in!
No need for 2FA codes or codes sent to the hacker’s email.
The key was to use my old phone.
Only the original phone used to create the account will work.
I was then quick to add 2FA via Google Authenticator to all my accounts to prevent this from happening again. I also changed my email and my password.
My @foreignersintw IG account is back!
In the meantime, I had also created a @twtravelblog IG account. Mainly because I wanted to get back on Threads: @foreignersintw. Threads is way better than IG, but I still use it because it is easy to share to Threads and FB at the same time.
Thanks to all my loyal fans, especially to the 200 or so superfans who quickly followed my new IG account @TWtravelblog. I will keep both accounts (including @foreignersintw going in the future.
Basic Tips to Protect Your Accounts on the Internet
- Don’t save passwords with Google
- Don’t use the same password every time
- Protect your email
- Change passwords if notified of a breach
- Set up 2FA (via authenticator app) for all your Meta accounts
- Don’t throw away old phones if you have Instagram
- Do not click on links from unknown individuals in emails
- Reach out to support (via meta verified)
How to recover a hacked IG account:
- Try the help guides on IG
- Reach out to support (via meta verified)
- Use your ORIGINAL PHONE that you used to log in to IG for the first time to try to log in via this link: http://instagram.com/hacked
Ways to not recover a hacked IG account:
- By using other hackers (they are all scams)
- By paying a ransom to your hackers (you will get nothing in return)
For the full story on our FB page getting hacked, check out our blog on how it got hacked here and how we got it back here.
Check out our guide to Taiwan here.
