'Everything was lost': Manitoba business owner victim of Instagram hack
A Winnipeg business owner is reminding others to be careful online after her social media accounts were hacked over the weekend.
Amie Hart runs two businesses; Set The Bar, a business that provides snack bars to events such as weddings, and a wedding planning business that she recently started. Both of her companies use Instagram heavily.
On Saturday, both of her accounts were accessed by a hacker, and she was locked out.
“I lost years worth of work and content and followers, it was devastating,” Hart said.
Hart said she received a text message from someone claiming to be from Instagram, saying there was a copyright infringement posted on one of her accounts.
“They told me they would text me an appeal form that I could appeal this accusation and I could get my accounts back,” she said. “In the meantime, I went to my accounts, and they were both locked. So, I had stated to this person that my accounts were locked, and he said, 'Well, that shouldn't have happened. I can gain you access back to your accounts.'”
Hart said the purported Instagram employee asked for security codes sent from the site, claiming he would enter them to restore access.
“Meanwhile, he wasn’t helping me; He was hacking into my accounts and taking over,” she said.
Hart said she went back and forth with the hacker, and asked if she was being scammed, which he confirmed, asking her for $100 and Apple gift cards.
When she heard that, her heart sank, she said.
“I have eight years of work poured into that account,” Hart said. “All of my posts, all of my reels, all of my followers, everything was lost. And not only that, but this person has used my identity to reach out to all of my followers to try to scam them, as well and try to take money from them.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, told CTV News Winnipeg that they are in the process of restoring Hart’s access back to her account.
As of Tuesday evening, Hart said she has regained control of her accounts.
Hart says she wants others, especially business owners, to be aware so they don’t fall victim to the same thing.
“If you're following a small business account and you get a message that's out of the norm for that business, that's not their regular content, or about investing or Bitcoin or things, it just looks suspicious. But chances are that the account has been hacked. And the best thing that you can do to protect yourself and to help this business is to report and block the account.”
In an email to CTV News, Winnipeg police spokesperson Ally Siatecki said if you receive an unsolicited email or message claiming to be from a well-known company, you need to be cautious.
Siatecki said don't click on any links or download any attachments, verify the sender’s email address, check for spelling and grammar errors, not provide personal information and report the message.
-With files from CTV's Jon Hendricks
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
Documents reveal Ottawa's efforts to get Loblaw, Walmart on board with grocery code
It was evident to the federal government as early as last fall that Loblaw and Walmart might be holdouts to the grocery code of conduct, jeopardizing the project's success.
opinion The special relationship between King Charles and the Princess of Wales
Royal commentator Afua Hagan writes that when King Charles recently admitted Catherine to the Order of the Companions of Honour, it not only made history, but it reinforced the strong bond between the King and his beloved daughter-in-law.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
'I just want to be safe': Ukrainian man in Canada faces limbo amid consular freeze
A recent decision to restrict consular services for fighting-aged Ukrainian men has made a Ukrainian man in Canada feel less certain of his next steps — and worried he could be pulled back to the war.
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Dozens of U.S. deaths reveal risks of injecting sedatives into people restrained by police
The practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the U.S. over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.