Due to the large Instagram userbase, hackers and scammers have flocked to the application to take advantage of this large pool of users. Hackers’ main goal is to get users to divulge sensitive account information that could lead them to gain access to your Instagram account.
One of the main ways they do this is by sending messages to users on the Instagram application in hopes of getting the user to click an external link or divulge sensitive information through conversation.
This guide will focus on the ways that your Instagram messages can be used by hackers to gain access to your account. It will also include preventative measures that you can put into place that can help you keep your Instagram account safe and secure.
While Instagram is a great way to make friends from around the world, it is important to use your best judgment when interacting with strangers on the internet. Due to the popularity of phishing scams and malware, the internet has become an increasingly more dangerous place and should be used with caution.
Can You Get Hacked Through Instagram DM?
You cannot be hacked by simply opening and viewing an Instagram DM. If the only interaction that you have with an Instagram DM is opening and viewing the contents of the DM, this will not cause you to be hacked.
Hackers and scammers depend on particular interactions with the DMs that they send in attempts to gain access to someone’s profile. As long as you do not interact with the contents of the DM in any way, other than simply reading them, your account and information will remain inaccessible to them.
It is actually recommended that you open any suspicious DMs and inspect their content so that you can report any malicious DMs to Instagram. This is a way that you can help keep the Instagram application safe for all users and discourage hackers from attempting to access other people’s profiles.
Examples of DMs that you should avoid replying to are DMs from people you do not know, DMs with links to external websites or other Instagram pages, DMs asking for personal information, and other generally suspicious DMs.
As long as you are using your best judgment while using the Instagram application, it is generally difficult for a hacker to obtain access to someone’s profile. Rest assured that simply viewing a DM on Instagram will never get your account hacked or compromised.
Can You Get Hacked By Replying To An Instagram DM?
Replying to an Instagram DM from a suspicious user could cause your account to become hacked. Once you begin to interact with suspicious and potentially malicious DMs that you receive on Instagram, your chances of having your account compromised increase exponentially.
These DMs could be an attempt to get a user to unknowingly divulge information that could potentially help a hacker more easily access your account. Depending on the nature of your reply to the DM and also the intent of the original DM, you could very easily find yourself in a situation where you are putting your account at risk.
Some examples of DMs to avoid replying to are DMs asking for birthday information, location or alumni information, or emails and other account information. All of this information can be used by a hacker to gain access to your account one way or another.
It is better to just not reply to these types of DMs, but if you choose to it is vital that you do not divulge any pertinent information in your reply. This can help ensure that your account is kept safe and secure. You should also consider reporting the user who has sent you these types of DMs to Instagram for investigation.
Can You Get A Virus From Opening An Instagram DM?
You cannot get a virus from opening an Instagram DM. That being said, depending on your interactions with a suspicious DM, you could wind up inadvertently downloading a virus to your PC or mobile device if you are not careful.
If the DM contains download links or links to other websites, clicking on these could infect your device with viruses, malware, or spyware. All of these will be extremely problematic should your device become infected with them.
Hackers use these links to entice users of Instagram to click on them and inadvertently allow the installation of malicious software on their devices. It is wise to never open links that you receive in Instagram DMs from users that you do not know.
This can help you avoid potentially installing dangerous software on your devices. You should report any Instagram users that send you suspicious DMs containing links to Instagram so that they can investigate the user.
What Happens If You Open A DM From Someone Who Has Been Hacked On Instagram?
If you simply open a DM on Instagram that has been sent from someone who has been hacked, you will likely not suffer any negative consequences. That being said, if you choose to interact with the DM in some way, you open yourself up to the risk of potentially having your account hacked or compromised.
Hackers could be impersonating someone you know on Instagram after gaining access to their account. This could cause you to leak sensitive information about your own account that could be used to gain access to it.
This is a rarer occurrence, as most hackers will employ bots to send their DMs out once they have gained access to a profile. These DMs will often read strangely and will be easily identified if you know the person that they are impersonating very well.
If you receive a DM from one of your Instagram friends that seems a little off, you should consider the fact that their account could have been hacked and a bot is sending DMs from their profile. These bots are designed to gain access to more profiles by using familiarity to help trick users to divulge sensitive information.
If you know the Instagram friend whose account you have received these types of DMs from in real life or have them added as a friend on another social media platform, you should consider contacting them there. This could help you confirm if they sent you the suspicious DM or not. In almost all cases the user will not have sent the DM, confirming that their account has been hacked.
What Happens If You Reply To A Hacked Instagram DM?
Replying to an Instagram DM from a hacked user could cause your own account to become hacked. Once you begin to interact with suspicious and potentially malicious DMs that you receive on Instagram from a hacked profile,
These DMs could be an attempt to get a user to unknowingly divulge information that could potentially help a hacker more easily access your account. Depending on the nature of your reply to the DM sent from a hacked profile and also the intent of the original DM, you could very easily find yourself in a situation where you are putting your account at risk.
Some examples of DMs to avoid replying to are DMs asking for birthday information, location or alumni information, or emails and other account information. All of this information can be used by a hacker to gain access to your account one way or another.
It is better to just not reply to these types of DMs, but if you choose to it is vital that you do not divulge any pertinent information in your reply. This can help ensure that your account is kept safe and secure. You should also consider reporting the user who has sent you these types of DMs to Instagram for investigation.
Generally, you will be able to tell if someone you know on Instagram is sending DMs that seem suspicious or out of character. There is a possibility that the user may not know their account has been compromised. You should reach out to the user that has sent you these types of suspicious DMs and attempt to get to the bottom of the situation.
What Happens If You Click A Link From A Hacked Instagram Account?
Links are the number one way that hackers attempt to gain access to someone’s Instagram profile through DMs. These links generally lead to outside applications or websites that will attempt to get the user to willingly supply sensitive information.
This information could then be used to access your Instagram account or worse, other accounts like your bank account. The websites that these external links send you to are often set up in a way that entices the user to supply this information.
Common examples of these types of sites include websites claiming that you have won a free prize, websites claiming to offer some form of service for no charge or other suspicious giveaways that require your Instagram account information to enter.
If you provide this information, it will be used to gain access to your Instagram account as well as any other accounts that they can get into with it. This can lead to your money being stolen or your identity being stolen as well.
Other links sent in Instagram DMs from hacked profiles will be put in place to install malicious software like viruses, malware, and spyware on your device without you knowing. These download links will be disguised as another type of software or link and will automatically start the download process once a user has clicked on them.
Viruses on your device will cause functionality errors that could potentially completely render it inoperable. Malware and spyware could be used to gain access to more sensitive accounts like your bank account, PayPal account, or other financial institution.
It is best to never, under any circumstances, click on links in DMs sent from people that you do not know on Instagram. You can safely assume that any strange link sent to you on Instagram from someone you do not know is malicious and could potentially open your Instagram account up to being hacked more easily.
Is It Safe To Open A DM Request On Messenger?
You cannot be hacked on Instagram by opening a DM request in the Instagram Messaging app. The DM Request folder is where all of the DMs your receive from people you are not friends with on Instagram are filed.
In this folder, you will be able to view and approve the initial DM. This will allow the user to engage in conversation with you freely, and their DM will be moved to your main Instagram Messaging inbox.
It is quite common to check the DM Request folder and see many suspicious DMs there. These DMs are often from strangers and contain links or questions about personal information. You should deny all DM requests from these types of users and report their profiles to Instagram for investigation.
As long as you do not approve and interact with strange, potentially dangerous DMs found in your DM Request folder, you will not be at risk by simply viewing the DM. After you deny the DM request, it will be deleted from the DM Request folder. You should consider blocking the user from contacting you before completing the deny process. This will keep them from contacting you in any way in the future.
How To Prevent Getting Hacked Vian Instagram DM
Now that you understand more about the different ways that Instagram DMs could potentially open you up to being hacked, you can start to examine some of the behaviors and precautions that could help you avoid having your account hacked.
All of the preventative measures listed below will help you keep your account more secure. It is important to always use your best judgment while using the Instagram Messaging application. While Instagram is known for making connections and new friends, it is not always wise to accept and respond to every DM request that you get.
1. Do Not Click Links From Profiles You Do Not Know
The number one way that you can keep your profile safe from hackers is to never, under any circumstances, click a link in a DM from a user that you do not know on Instagram. These links are almost a hundred percent of the time malicious and have been sent to you in an attempt to get you to divulge sensitive information willingly or unknowingly.
This information would then be used to gain access to your Instagram account or worse, your financial accounts. This could cause you an extreme amount of trouble should they gain access to some of your more pertinent account information.
It is best to avoid clicking links in DMs on Instagram for this reason. Links that you receive from people you know are generally safe, but keep in mind that the users account could have been hacked prior to sending you the link, which could put you at risk of being hacked.
It is safe practice to double-check with the user before opening any link sent to you on Instagram. If you are able to confirm the link’s legitimacy with the person who sent it to you, then you can safely open it without any issues.
1. Do Not Give Personal Information Out To Someone You Do Not Know
You should never give out personal information to someone you do not know on Instagram. If you receive an Instagram DM attempting to strike up a conversation with a stranger and reply, you should carefully monitor the situation for any suspicious signs.
If the conversation starts leading toward them asking you for increasingly more sensitive information, like your birthday, age, location, or alumni status, this is a strong indication that they are attempting to gauge you for information that will be used maliciously.
You should immediately cease all communication with these types of users and report them to Instagram for further investigation. As long as you do not give them any information about yourself, they will likely not be able to access your account.
That being said, hackers are extremely tricky and can use special conversational methods to get users to unknowingly reveal this type of information. It is generally best to just not reply to DMs from strangers on Instagram.
3. Do Not Accept DM Requests From Strangers
You should avoid accepting DM requests from strangers on Instagram. This can help cut down on your chances of engaging in a conversation with someone who is trying to gain access to your Instagram account.
The DM Request folder on Instagram contains all of the DMs sent from people you are not currently friends with. It common to check this folder and see many DMs sent from profiles that you do not. These DMs generally contain many of the suspicious elements detailed in this guide.
You can deny the DM Request of these types of DMs to have them removed from this folder. They will have to manually send the DM again if they wish to reach you, where it will sit in the DM Request folder for you to deny again.
To avoid this type of back and forth, you should consider blocking the profile of a user who has sent you this type of DM and report them to Instagram for further investigation.
4. Do Not Reply To Strange DMs From People You Do Not Know
One of the best ways you can keep your Instagram account secure is to simply not reply or acknowledge DMs sent from strangers. You should use your best judgment to decide if the contents of the DMs are relevant to you or if it seems suspicious.
Use the detailed information regarding suspicious messaging behaviors and contents provided for you in this guide to help you make the right choice. While some friendships have started on Instagram by simply sending a DM to a stranger, it is generally safer to avoid this type of behavior while using the application.
5. Report All Suspicious DMs And Profiles To Instagram
You should report any and all suspicious activity that you encounter while using Instagram to the Instagram Support staff. Doing so will ensure that the application is safe and secure for everyone to use by removing and discouraging this type of behavior.
Instagram has a strict policy regarding hacking, phishing, and other malicious behaviors. Accounts that are found to be in violation of these policies will be met with a permanent ban from the Instagram platform and in some cases, legal litigation.
Everyone should do their part to report these types of DMs and the users who send them so that they can be removed from the application. You can report a DM by holding down on it while viewing it in the Messenger application.
Holding down on the suspicious DM will bring up the Instagram Messenger menu and the controls related to the DM in question. You will see the Report option in this list. Select the Report option and follow the on-screen prompt to properly report your issue to Instagram.
Once you have submitted your report, Instagram will begin the investigation process and if the profile is determined to be malicious, they will be removed from the Instagram platform permanently.
Final Thoughts
This guide has provided you with all of the information that you need to ensure that your Instagram DMs do not cause you to be hacked by another user of the app. Hackers are prevalent on most social media applications and intend to extract as much information regarding a user’s account as they can.
Using this information, hackers will attempt to gain access to not only your Instagram account but other financial and social media accounts that you may have. This can cause major issues if your accounts have been compromised by a hacker.
You should use all of the information in this guide to help you avoid having your account hacked or compromised. This is vital to your internet safety while using the Instagram application. You should also be sure to report any suspicious activity to Instagram so that they can investigate the issue and potentially ban the accounts that are sending malicious messages.