A small business owner in Sale, Sacha Lees, has been left devastated after hackers hijacked her shop’s Instagram account and demanded a ransom of €1,000 to regain access. The cyber criminals targeted Sacha, who has spent a decade building her following of 26,000 on the social media platform, which she describes as the main source of attracting customers to her boutique, Stylejunky.

The sudden disappearance of her Instagram account has had a severe impact on Sacha’s business, as she relied heavily on the platform to showcase her products and connect with customers. She expressed her frustration, saying, “We are a small independent business. Instagram is the main source of getting customers to shop with us and we built up a really solid following.”

The incident unfolded when Sacha received an email claiming to be from Meta, the parent company of Instagram, confirming her application for a verified blue tick. However, within minutes of opening the email, she found herself locked out of her account and received a WhatsApp message from the hackers demanding the ransom money.

Despite her relentless efforts to regain control of her account, including seeking assistance from Greater Manchester Police’s cyber crime unit, Sacha has been unsuccessful in recovering it. The police have traced the hack back to an IP address in Istanbul, but their attempts to reach out to Instagram and Meta have been met with silence.

Sacha expressed her dismay at the lack of support from the social media platforms, stating, “I’ve not had one reply from Instagram or Meta, nothing. It’s a battle with Instagram. There’s no helpline, no support, just nothing.” She also highlighted the toll the situation has taken on her business, as she is now spending valuable time trying to restore her account instead of focusing on her shop.

In response to the incident, Instagram has stated that they are investigating the issue and urged all users to take precautions such as creating strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and being cautious of emails or messages requesting personal information.

The ordeal faced by Sacha Lees serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities small business owners face in the digital age, where cyber attacks can have crippling consequences. As she continues to fight to regain control of her Instagram account, she hopes that others will learn from her experience and take steps to protect their online presence.

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