Instagram, TikTok & Twitter Shutdown Stolen Accounts
Instagram has shut down hundreds of accounts that were stolen during an online hacking operation that aimed at selling usernames. The Facebook-owned photo-sharing app has been taking down accounts stolen by the OGUsers cyber crime community group, a virtual market which is known to be a place to sell and exchange stolen usernames between hackers.
TikTok and Twitter have also taken action on accounts that have been harvested by the same group, according to cyber security expert Brian Krebs. He has reported that it’s a "coordinated" approach by the companies to take down these highly sought-after usernames, some of which have been involved in "lucrative" resales.
Facebook said it targeted a number of accounts tied to key sellers on OGUsers as well as those who advertise the ability to broker stolen account sales. OGUsers has helped to facilitate the hacking of accounts through methods such as SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) swapping, where a hacker gains control of someone's phone number and uses it to reset passwords and take control of their social media accounts.
Although the big social media companies have began to taken action, SIM swapping is still considered a relatively simple hacking process.
The OGUsers forum earned notoriety last summer when it got into many famous people’s Twitter accounts and used them to spread a Bitcoin scam. Approximately 130 accounts were targeted, including ones belonging to Elon Musk and former US president Barak Obama. “Particularly prized by this community are short usernames, which can often be resold for thousands of dollars to those looking to claim a choice vanity name,” Brian Krebs commented.
Facebook said it targeted a number of accounts tied to key sellers on OGUsers, as well as those who advertise the ability to broker stolen account sales. "Today, we're removing hundreds of accounts connected to members of the OGUsers forum... we will continue to do all we can to make it difficult for them to profit from Instagram usernames," a Facebook spokesperson said.
Like most cyber crime forums, OGUsers is populated by criminals, some of whom act as intermediaries in the sale of private data.
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