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This is a good tack, though the key is the gmail account. Presumably, the perp has multiple scams based on the content of the account. Presuming much of the me

This is a good tack, though the key is the gmail account. Presumably, the perp has multiple scams based on the content of the account. Presuming much of the media creation is automated, they could also have run the process once the gmail account was owned. Testing auth from unexpected locations in advance seems like an easy way to get noticed.

dylan604 5y ago
I'm not reading that they hacked/stole a gmail account. My understanding is that by taking over the account, they updated the associated email address used for contact within Insta. It just so happened that the email used by the attacker was a gmail account. >Testing auth from unexpected locations in advance seems like an easy way to get noticed. How many times we've received emails from online accounts notifying about login attempts? They are usually phishing attempts, but it occurs enough that most people don't believe the legitimate emails.
- lupire 5y ago
  I've never received a fake email saying that I've logged in to a service from a new location. I use Gmail spam filters.
- aidos 5y ago
  A friend of a friend went through this a while ago and I was called on to help. Insta was totally taken over and so I made her start going through the linked gmail account because there should be a message in there from insta about the details changes. Nope. You use the same password, don’t you. Yup. So it’s - access insta, change email, phone and password. Access gmail, delete notifications from Instagram, profit. In her case she had about 60k followers. They sent random emails the moment she tried to do a password reset, so they obviously back the email onto an automated random service. The fact the insta even allows changing all of those details in quick succession is one thing. The impossibility of contacting them next is another. Took a few days but they eventually flipped the account back to her with about as little fanfare as taking it away.
  - jayg1107 5y ago
    How did you get them to give it back? I cant find anyway to contact them

dylan604 5y ago

I'm not reading that they hacked/stole a gmail account. My understanding is that by taking over the account, they updated the associated email address used for contact within Insta. It just so happened that the email used by the attacker was a gmail account. >Testing auth from unexpected locations in advance seems like an easy way to get noticed. How many times we've received emails from online accounts notifying about login attempts? They are usually phishing attempts, but it occurs enough that most people don't believe the legitimate emails.

lupire 5y ago
I've never received a fake email saying that I've logged in to a service from a new location. I use Gmail spam filters.
aidos 5y ago
A friend of a friend went through this a while ago and I was called on to help. Insta was totally taken over and so I made her start going through the linked gmail account because there should be a message in there from insta about the details changes. Nope. You use the same password, don’t you. Yup. So it’s - access insta, change email, phone and password. Access gmail, delete notifications from Instagram, profit. In her case she had about 60k followers. They sent random emails the moment she tried to do a password reset, so they obviously back the email onto an automated random service. The fact the insta even allows changing all of those details in quick succession is one thing. The impossibility of contacting them next is another. Took a few days but they eventually flipped the account back to her with about as little fanfare as taking it away.
- jayg1107 5y ago
  How did you get them to give it back? I cant find anyway to contact them