It all happened when the 15-year-old Molde girl Anette Krokå took control of her Instagram account. Up and down she scrolled and looked at nice pictures, funny pictures and other pictures that close friends and not so close friends had posted. Suddenly a picture appeared in the history field at the top of the page. It was from a close friend. Or it was apparently from a friend. Later it would turn out that it was not from the friend at all. On the contrary. This was the start of what may now develop into a criminal case. – I am so scared. Because this is dangerous. He is using my daughter’s identity and defrauding others. That’s what the 15-year-old’s mother, Daniella Krokå, says. The 15-year-old himself thinks what has happened is extremely embarrassing, and would prefer not to speak directly to news. But she has approved that news cover the case. After mum Daniella Krokå refused to pay to get the account back, both she and the owner of the account Anette (15) were locked out. Photo: Roar Strøm / news – It started with a riddle So it started with a small message in the story field on the Instagram account. The message was in the form of a riddle. And together with the riddle there was a promise of a small cash prize: NOK 10 is not a lot of money. But enough to be able to join in what was apparently just a fun game. – My daughter of course answered the riddle, says Daniella. But for the person who posted the riddle, an answer was not enough. He also wanted the telephone number of the person who answered, because he was going to send the prize to Vipps. – She thought it was from a friend. So she wrote her phone number. Lose control of Instagram With the phone number in hand, the hacker managed to gain control of the Instagram account. Anette received a link from the hacker, but says she did not click on this link. Anyway, it happened: She lost all control over her Instagram account. – That’s where the trouble started. It’s scary to think what he can do with the ticket to the young people. He asks for money and this is fraud, says Daniella. Daniella shows news a screenshot of the contact he has had with several of the girls in the group of friends. – I have also had a long dialogue with him. But it ends up with him giving me a link where I can pay a sum to get the account back. Mother Danielka Krokå has communicated with the hacker in the hope that her 15-year-old daughter would regain control of her Instagram account. Photo: Roar Strøm / news – Fear, temptation and trust Professional leader of the Norwegian Center for Information Security, Karoline Tømte, says that Annette and mother Daniela are not alone at all. But this case has a somewhat unusual side. Because here it is not just about the hacker gaining access by tricking the 15-year-old into clicking on a link. Karoline Hultman Tømte is professional leader at the Norwegian Center for Information Security. Photo: Norsis – Here we are also talking about social manipulation where fear, temptation and trust are used. And it seems that the fraudster is looking for immediate financial gain, says Tømte. She says it is completely understandable that 15-year-old Anette in Molde has acted in good faith and has answered a question from someone she thought she knew. Every day, Norsis/Slettmeg receives between 10 and 15 cases of account hijacking on Facebook and Instagram. – A great many of these cases could have been avoided if the users had turned on two-step login, says Tømte. – I feel completely alone Both Instagram and Facebook have help pages with links to be used when accounts are hacked. These have not been of any help to the family in Molde. Subsequently, they have tried several times to contact Instagram directly. They have sent emails without getting a response. – I think Instagram should become better at helping users who are in trouble. We have reported the account as hacked and we have sent many emails and we have filled out forms. But we don’t get an answer. Daniella Krokå is concerned that they are not alone, and that on a global basis there are probably many millions who are in the same situation. – And what does Instagram do with it? Did they just let the hackers hang on? Someone has to do something about this. I feel completely alone. It’s scary that we don’t get an answer. This is the link that the hacker wants mum Daniella Krokå to use to pay to get her Instagram account back. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Becomes a police case On Friday morning, Daniella Krokaå contacted the police in Molde. She simply couldn’t bear the thought of hackers being allowed to continue with fraud. – It is so serious that I cannot let it go. It is simply cybercrime. And people who experience this must report this to the police. It’s about protecting society, says Daniella Krokå to news. Meta replies news has submitted the case to the owner of Facebook and Instagram, Meta. We have questioned Meta’s responsibility to prevent hacking, whether they think their own system is good enough and whether they think they are good enough to help the users who have been hacked. – We fully understand that it is unpleasant to be exposed to hacking. To avoid this, it is incredibly important to protect your profiles. We offer various tools against hacking, and advise everyone to activate two-step verification and turn on notifications about unknown logins, says Camilla Nordsted, communications manager Nordics in Meta to news. Nordsted encourages anyone who is hacked to report this to Meta. Through news, Meta has also asked to get in touch with the family so that they can review the case with the family.
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The Instagram of Anette (15) has been hacked and is being used for fraud – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
