Instagram users have been warned to look out for a direct message containing a cruel scam.
Purporting to come from Instagram itself, the message is actually a dangerous phishing attack that lets hackers gain access to an account.
The message claims to be from Instagram’s ‘Copyright Help Center’ and tells the victim one of their posts has caused a ‘copyright violation’.
It goes on to say the account will be deleted unless the user offers feedback through a link at the bottom of the message.
The link actually takes people to a rogue website that captures any details the victim hands over.
Instragram says it will never contact account holders directly through a DM and has warned people to beware of this scam.
‘Keep your account safe,” the company tweeted.
‘You may get emails that LOOK like they’re from Instagram, but they’re not.
‘Avoid hacks and phishing by: Checking your settings to confirm we contacted you. Nothing there? Then it’s not from us.’
In order to protect against scams like this, Instagram says account holders should turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) which adds an additional step to the login process.
If anyone wants to check what messages Instagram has sent, there’s a certain way to do it.
First, log in to the app and open the Settings menu. Then, simply click on ‘Privacy’ and then ‘Emails from Instagram’.