B.C. man regains bong business Instagram access after hack
Posted October 12, 2022 2:40 pm.
Last Updated October 12, 2022 2:45 pm.
Gibson Sell relies heavily on his Instagram account for his bong business. But when it was hacked, the Quadra Island resident’s life — and work — almost went up in smoke.
Sell, who ships the glass water pipes around the world from his B.C. studio, says his page was compromised on Sept. 10 and that he tried to get his account back right away.
The man reported the hack to Instagram and the RCMP, but neither was able to do anything about it. It wasn’t until CityNews reached out to Instagram’s parent company, Meta, for comment on this story that Sell’s access was restored.
“Instagram says they’re taking this seriously, but there’s absolutely no help at all,” he told CityNews.
Some followers scammed after Instagram hack
While they had control, Sell says hackers were messaging some of his 12,000 followers, successfully scamming some of them. Sell says at least two of his customers were out over $1,000 USD due to fraud.
“It was 90 per cent of my revenue. I had all of my correspondence with the main shops I dealt with, so I had lost all of that,” Sell said of his account, used primarily for business.
“I went back to my old ways and called every single one of my shops I deal with telling them I was hacked … One of them said ‘I’m so glad you called I would have sent you $500 no questions asked.’ I have that kind of reputation in the community.”
Now that he has regained control of his account, Sell is going through messages to see just how many people may have been duped.
“I feel terrible for the people who got scammed,” he said. “I had almost written this off entirely, but now I get to figure out where to go from here.”
Disclaimer: The video in the following Instagram post contains strong language some people may find offensive.
In a statement to CityNews, Meta says it has a security team of over 40,000 people and 15,000 dedicated content reviewers to keep its platforms safe and secure.
The company did not respond to questions asking why people like Sell have had such a hard time trying to regain access to their accounts, even when they are reported as being hacked.
Meta recommends setting up two-factor authentication — a security measure that requires at least two pieces of evidence for people to sign into a profile — using strong passwords, and not clicking on suspicious links, even if the link is sent by someone you know.
In a statement to CityNews, the BC RCMP is urging anyone who gets hacked or scammed online to report it to them as well as to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
