• Home
  • About Us
  • Categories
    • Lifestyle
    • Girl Mom
    • Life is Better in Boots
    • Travel
    • Reviews
    • Beauty
    • Deals and Promotions
    • Projects
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Boots Bows & Beaches

Promise her anything but give her the beach, big bows & nice boots!

Hacked- 60K Followers Vanished from Instagram in Minutes

August 14, 2019

Imagine waking up in the morning ready to go to work, driving to your business, a business that you have built from the ground up and it was gone. Imagine that someone had gone inside the building took all your files, clients, and anything else needed to run said business. Whether it be a hair salon, property management company, clothing boutique or restaurant, in my case my Instagram account.

HACKED

Imagine everything was gone. Nothing left. How would you feel? Lost, devastated and distraught I’m sure. Then not to mention after finding out you just lost all of this the person who stole it from you was requesting a ransom to get it back.

Hacked

This is exactly what happened to me last week. A normal Saturday afternoon, ready to take the boat out on the water with my family. On the way to the boat landing, I get an email. An email that looked like a brand email requesting to work with me to promote their products, an email that looked similar to those I receive all the time.

Hacked

This time it was different. Once I clicked the link which I thought was sending me to their Instagram page all hell broke loose. Literally. Within 3 minutes they had gotten into my Instagram account, changed the username, password, email and phone number associated with my account.

 

Hacked

Another few minutes went by and I got an email from the hackers stating they will delete my account within 3 hours if I do not pay them $400.

 

Hacked

GONE

My Instagram account with 60k followers was being held for ransom. Everything I had built was literally taken away from me in an instant.

My first initial reaction was to find some kind of support from Instagram. Well, that is basically non-existent. The maze that Instagram sends you on to get any help is laughable. Every support button leads to broken/dead links and emails from robots which lead absolutely nowhere. It’s awful. Instagram is so focused on influencers who are getting “fake likes” instead of being focused on the real problems….like hackers holding accounts ransom.

This back and forth went on for 5 days. Including during my birthday. Happy freakin’ birthday right? Well, I had finally reached out to a “good guy hacker” who so many other bloggers recommended and swore by…Juan. He was so patient and tried so hard to help me for days. Literally. He dealt with the endless questions and craziness from me. So. Many. Questions.

He tried to help me for days with no luck he worked so hard and I’m so thankful for all his work.

Finally, I couldn’t help myself I asked the hackers the lowest amount they would take for me to get my account back. I couldn’t help and I paid. The hacker told me he would take $75! Yes, I paid the hackers $75! $75 y’all for 3 years of my life! I had to try and prayed for the best and they actually restored it. I was in the middle of Walmart and had a complete breakdown.

My Instagram and blog are my babies, I literally grew this from nothing and I pour my heart and soul into it every day. I am beyond grateful for this amazing community and for everyone who has tried to help. This whole experience was an eye-opening, to say the least. I’m so relieved that the situation is now resolved. I don’t know if paying was the best way to go but I felt that I needed to try and for $75 it was a no brainer. I’ve also learned so much from this, and I’m coming back stronger!

PSA: Set up two-factor authentication on your accounts. NOW!

Filed in: Lifestyle • by Jamie • Leave a Comment

Hi, I’m Jamie and I’m so happy you are here!

I started Boots Bows and Beaches a few years ago to share our craziness that is being married, working full time and of course being a mom of two teen girls.

Who knew I would learn so much and make such great friends while listening to country music and dealing with teenage hormones.

About me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search The Blog

Categories

  • Beauty
  • Broadway
  • Deals and Promotions
  • Dog Mama
  • Girl Mom
  • Girls With Heart
  • Healthy Living
  • Life is Better in Boots
  • Lifestyle
  • Love For Locals
  • Projects
  • Reviews
  • Travel

Popular Posts

Hexology

HEXA in-drawer organizers by Spectrum Diversified Designs

Weekend Getaway at Great Wolf Lodge

Pinterest

FOLLOW

@bootsbowsandbeaches
Xoxo 💋 Anybody have any Valentine’s Day plans Xoxo 💋 Anybody have any Valentine’s Day plans this weekend?! 🥰🥰
This year I am craving a lot more organization in This year I am craving a lot more organization in my life. When everything has a place, I just feel like I have my life together, for the most part anyway. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 

The place in our house that is the most disorganized? The kitchen. Time to get organized with the HEXA in-drawer organizers by @spectrumdiversified 🙌🏼 Full blog post coming soon about these amazing organizers and why I love them so much! Stay tuned!
Happy Friday everyone! Hope y’all have the best Happy Friday everyone! Hope y’all have the best weekend!
This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit This past weekend we had the opportunity to visit @greatwolflodge again! This was our third trip to Great Wolf and we were just as excited as the first time we visited!
If you’re looking for a family-friendly getaway, this is it! Everyone had a great time, and the fun is nonstop and don’t worry they have plenty of precautions in place for COVID-19! Head over to the blog to read more about our trip! #GreatWolfLodge #hosted
Sometimes all you need is a good pair of leggings Sometimes all you need is a good pair of leggings and a hoodie to start the week! Happy Monday! #fableticspartner 

Starting the day in my @fabletics gear! I love this outfit I’m wearing. It’s a 3 piece set that includes a sport bra, leggings, and this adorable Jasmine Side Slit Pullover! #myfabletics #moveinfabletics 

Right now you can get 2 pair of leggings for only $24! Link in bio!
These two are having so much fun this weekend at @ These two are having so much fun this weekend at @greatwolflodge 🙌🏼 We are missing Kenz tho...she stayed home because she had auditions for Matilda Jr! (break a leg!) Make sure to check out my stories to see all the fun we are having! For now we are heading back to the water park for a few hours til closing! 💦 #greatwolflodge #hosted
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

Copyright © 2021 · Boots Bows and Beaches | Theme by Blog Pixie