Unfortunately, even turning on 2-factor verification and changing passwords regularly won't leave you immune from account hackers >>
My Instagram account was hacked after clicking on a link in what I thought was an email about a brand collaboration
Hackers often target users through by imitating brands and personal friends, or by posing as the Meta policy, verification, or customer service teams >>
Hackers usually reach out trying to extort the account owner for money in exchange for getting it back
You could negotiate with them or try to contact Instagram (who probably won't care), or you can fill out a form to contact Juan who has helped dozens of people get their accounts back
Never ever click on links for suspicious emails or DMs. If something feels like it's off, it probably is!
If you do click on a suspicious link, do not sign into your Instagram account if prompted—exit out right away >>
Suspicious emails can easily be identified three ways:
1. Email address: If the email is from Meta or a brand, does the email domain (@meta.com, @nordstrom.com) look right?
2. Links: Does the formatting in the email look right?
3. Link hovering: ALWAYS hover over URLs before clicking to make sure they're actually legit. Just because it's typed as instagram.com doesn't mean that's the link!