Yes. My Instagram @welltraveledwares was hacked.

This has been the beginning of so many conversations lately. Every day for nearly two weeks. Sometimes 20+ times a day, with people I know and people I don’t. The messages flood in on all the possible platforms people can search me out on: email, Facebook, LinkedIn, (my new) Instagram @well.traveled.wares , text, whatsapp. I even had a former tenant seek me out on AirBnb yesterday.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you’ve been hacked!

Let’s back it up though. How does any intelligent human get hacked in this day and age? Damn good question, and if you don’t want the whole back story just scroll down to the “here’s how it works” part below.

My husband and I were in the middle of a three week recon trip to Portugal (we’re moving there) when Nick caught COVID, which is scary enough at home, but even scarier in a country where you don’t speak the language, and suddenly all your travel plans and reservations are in limbo. We were fortunate enough to have friends who let us quarantine in their family farm house for a week. Nick hunkered down in the back room and I took to the couch so I could care for him, and not be near him.

We were supposed to fly to France to visit friends before returning to Portland. We were supposed to drive to Porto. There were meetings on the books and then it was all in a free fall. Could we even get back into the country when it was time to fly home? It was stressful. I spent a lot of time trying to get refunds (mostly failed), change flights, research the laws on traveling post COVID. And of course I was worried about Nick, and worried I would also test positive and further complicate our re-entry. When I am stressed, I don’t sleep.

So I’m laying on the couch at 5:00 am listening to the roosters, and an Instagram message pops up from an old friend: “If I text you something, can you screenshot it and send it back to me? I’m trying to get my account verified.” I did think it was a little odd, but I obliged. And that was it. Game over for the Instagram I account I spent ten years building.

Here’s how it works:

• The hacker goes to your IG page and tries to login as you, but clicks “forgot password” which then triggers the option “text me a link to access my account”.

• So while the hacker is chatting with you setting up whatever premise (he’s used the IG certification, voting in a contest, and who knows what else), when he thinks he has you, that’s when the link pops up in your texts. The link that gives him access to everything.

• He immediately logs you out of your account, changes all the passwords, email and phone associated with the account and even changes the handle just slightly so you can’t report your original account. (In my case @welltraveledwares became @welltraveledwares__) Oh and he blocks anyone who questions him!

• You can try reporting, submitting a selfie video, selfies with ID, emailing Instagram…. nothing works. The hacker changes things just enough that Instagram can no longer verify that you are really you. Pardon my language but it’s a fucking nightmare.

So here we are, almost two weeks post hack, or PH as I’m calling it. I’ve lost touch with the 7,800 followers I worked so hard to connect with. I’ve started over on IG as @well.traveled.wares and I am still messaging Facebook trying to get help, that feels like it’s never coming. You may think, well no biggie, so you just start over, right? Sure, starting a new page is easy enough, but reconnecting with people? Not-so-much. And just moving on? Not at all.

I have spent countless HOURS going through my contacts and messaging people to warn them, but I don’t remember all the handles of all the people who followed me. Even if I did, those messages go into that “other folder” where they aren’t seen for days or even at all. Or people have private accounts that I cannot message. But damn I have been trying! And every night, the hacker goes on a bender messaging all of the followers of the old account. He has access to all of our conversations, so he can find ways to trick people and make it seem like it’s me.

Every morning, for two weeks now, I wake up to messages in all the places (see first paragraph) letting me know I have been hacked. I get messages all day, every day, everywhere you can think of, and have to explain it all over again and try to warn people. It makes it pretty hard to just “start over”. It feels helpless, hopeless and oh-so-very violating. The hacker is also hacking people from my contacts, making me feel terrible for causing them the same instagram fate. Some people who were my “IG friends” have ignored requests for help, by way of spreading the word. And to be clear, this is my business account. This directly affects my ability to run my business and connect with my buyers. It hurts the trust and relationships I have spent years building. It is literal crazy making and I am just so fried from it all. One stupid mistake and BAM!

What can you do? Turn on two factor authentication to protect yourselves! If you want to help me, please follow my new page, and share it in your stories. Let people know what happened. Report and BLOCK the old account. Screenshot it so people can see what it looks like and share it.

I have been fortunate to reconnect with some great friends on IG who have been helping share what’s happening. I am trying to rebuild on a platform I am completely disinterested in existing on anymore. I am not giving up because this is my business and my dream and I have worked too hard! In the meantime, I have some fun giveaway collabs planned to try to reach more people. Thank you for listening. Thank you for helping. Thank you for supporting my art dreams.

The trip to Portugal was wonderful despite all of this, but more on that soon.