A Cork businesswoman has been tensed all time the last night. Why? Well, a Russian hacker group has took control of her Instagram and is now demanding a sum of € 10,000 for the return of the account.
Charlene Corkery has lost her contact with 13,000 fans who loved her business that she setup and expanded during the COVID lockdown called Box of Kindness.
The business of Charlene provided the right customized hampers and gifts that you could send to your distant loved ones.
The business had a spectacular year but now things have taken a turn for the worse. The business instagram account was hacked by Russian hacking group who have changed the name of the brand and fans are leaving.
This account has been a very important part of the business as the businesswoman puts a lot of effort into it – about 80 percent of her website traffic comes from the instagram account.
How Did The Hack Happen?
The hack took place over the weekend when Charlene was on a break from work . She posted a message ok the page saying she would return to all of her emails on Monday.
She told Neil Prendeville how she then got a DM that appeared as if it was directly from Instagram.
The message said the song that the businesswoman used in one of her profile posts was copyrighted and the account will be blocked.
Charlene followed through on the link in the DM and she thought it was the right procedure but the next morning things went awry and the page’s name was changed to “kingsanchezx”.
‘They Deleted Everything’
She told RedFM: “They’ve hacked my Instagram and deleted everything, they’re still floating around my Instagram, and if I’d say anything it’s that people need to be wary that ‘King Sanchez’ is Box of Kindness, they’ve taken over it.
“If I can get this across to people who own businesses, as eighty percent of my business is coming to my website from Instagram. Thankfully we also get a lot on referral but a lot comes from Insta.”
What Do Cyber Security Experts Say?
Ronan joined Neil on the air, saying: “Account hacking on social media has become a very common thing now.
“It affects many high-profile celebrities and politicians but also many brands.
“It now and affects local people and snall businesses as well.
“I approached them and asked what the matter was and how we were going to get the account and they chose a number and said it was €10,000.
“I said not a hope, and they dropped the price, and dropped it, then said they had a buyer for the site for €1,000 but I don’t give that any credence.”
Ronan said they then offered to return Charlene’s page for € 1,000 but “the question remains” whether they will return it or not after payment.
Official Complaint
According to Facebook if someone thinks their account has been compromised there are many options they can take.
On their accounts they can use face recognition to verify ownership, but the business process seems to be more complicated once the email and phone numbers have already been changed.
When asked if she would pay, Charlene swore she would not give the gang even a penny.
She also expressed thanks to everyone who participated in supporting her in the last 24 hours.
