 "Fruit photos bring spam to Instagram")
In case you’ve been wondering why some of your Instagram buddies are turning fruit diets evangelists suddenly, the answer is simple as spam. Hackers have taken over some Instagram accounts and are sharing images and posts regarding a new fruit-based diet.
Compromised accounts are sharing images of fruits, advocating a fruit diet with hashtags and a shortened link that takes users to a fake BBC page that promotes weight-loss coffee. The link has been clicked on more than 35,000 times at the time of publishing. “Ever seen this stuff? I guess its super healthy, im giving it a try. I saw it on Dr Oz’s show! Link is in my bio #lovemyfollowers #health,” reads one of the spam posts, urging users to click the link. The spam images were first brought to notice by GigaOm.
Fruits go hipster (Image credit: GigaOm)
Instagram has been sending out mass mails to all affected users, asking them to reset their passwords using a web browser. “We detected some suspicious activity that suggests your Instagram account has been compromised,” reads the mail. “Don’t worry, we’ve taken measures to secure your account. As a result, we need you to reset your password.”
Even as the spam spread, Instagram issued a statement saying, “Earlier today a small portion of our users experienced a spam incident where unwanted photos were posted from their accounts. Our security and spam team quickly took actions to secure the accounts involved, and the posted photos are being deleted.”
It is unclear how the spammers managed to get their hands on login credentials of some users. We advise you to reset your password, in any case. Now let’s get back to our coffee pictures.
Intrigued by all things social, Nishtha will invariably tweet about you. When not tweeting or writing about the next viral video, you will hear her proclaiming her love to Metallica, James Hetfield, Opeth, Akerfeldt and all bands that go 'growl'. She also obsesses about ACP Pradyuman and South Park and you will always find her moving around with a book. Her focus is on all the happening stuff in the tech domain, and she won't hesitate to take a shot at some of the oddball devices that make their way to our labs.