When you check your Instagram account, you might see that you are following someone you have never met or seen before. In such a situation, you're probably surprised and assume that someone changed their account name. You unfollow this account and think no more about it.

Unfortunately, attackers may have hacked your account and turned it into a zombie account. But what is a zombie Instagram account, and how can you prevent this from happening again?

What Are Instagram Zombie Accounts?

Cyberattackers can hack your active account and use it to follow someone without your knowledge, gain likes and comments on some posts, or increase your own following. Accounts that have been compromised in this way are known as zombie accounts.

This type of hack may be challenging to spot because your account is still active. Moreover, hackers can sell your account as your following increases, which then also increases the financial value of it. The problem of zombie accounts does not only apply to Instagram: many other social media platforms have the same risks.

Many Instagram accounts make purchases from sites that sell Instagram followers to reach a high number of people in a short time. If you do this, there is a danger that your account will also become a zombie account. Over time, you can see that you have been tagged in posts you have never even seen, and you may have even "liked" them. Think of the situation like a spider's web of zombie accounts, each following and liking each other, all at the behest of hackers.

Moreover, you could also see, in time, that your number of followers has declined. These decreases are because active users who have become zombie accounts notice you and unfollow you, just like you might unfollow accounts you don't recognize.

How Attackers Hijack Your Instagram Account

Often attackers request your permission to convert or hack your Instagram account into a zombie account, and you unknowingly give them this permission. How? Not all apps you download from app markets are completely safe. A game that looks very innocent or a photo editor you download to edit your photos can be a front that will take over your social media accounts.

Indeed, the process is fairly straightforward. Consider the functioning logic of cookies in web browsers. When you connect to your bank account to pay your monthly payments online, a cookie is set. Consider this cookie record to be the ID provided to you by the website you visited. If you have your bank account open in one tab and a malware-infected site or application open in another, the malware-infected site or application may obtain the cookie information from your bank account. The attacker can then use this cookie information to obtain a fresh session from another machine.

Just like in this example, the front apps you download to your phone can steal your social media login information without you ever being aware of it. Because even if you think you have exited the application, all applications can run in the background as long as you have a charge.

Stealing login information means that you don't even need your username and password. In short, by only downloading an innocent-looking application, you make the attackers' job much easier.

In addition to all these, there are many clone applications and websites. For example, if you see an option in an application that states that you can log in through your social media accounts, you should be suspicious. Because a link, interface, and mail that looks exactly like Instagram will be waiting for you. Once you fully trust and give your username and password information, it's too late. Attackers will have taken over your account.

In fact, users are the biggest vulnerability in the process. Many feel the need to click on the buttons or links they see, because it will take a few more clicks to open the official Instagram app. As you can see, phishing attacks are one of the situations where attackers use human psychology.

Control and Keep Your Instagram Account Safe

If you suspect that your account is being used as a zombie account by attackers, you should change the password of your active Instagram account. After changing the password, all active sessions will be logged out. So the attackers have to hack you again.

The same rule applies to other social media applications. Change your password to a very difficult one. Also, if you can see the active sessions and connected applications, log out of all those applications and sessions. So you will have a more secure account.

Another method preferred by attackers is phishing attacks. An example phishing attack works as follows. You get an email just like it came from Instagram. When you look at the address of the incoming mail, you can see an official Instagram mail address. The content and links of the mail are completely taken from official sources. There is almost no difference with real Instagram mail, so you trust and click on this message. The link you click can redirect you to any page, even your official Instagram account. But what you don't realize is that the attacker has already taken the required login information from your system. That's why you need to pay attention to every incoming mail or file you download.

How Can Keep Your Instagram Account Safe?

You should check all the applications you have downloaded to your phone so that attackers cannot use your Instagram account as a zombie account. Do not keep any application on your phone that you do not know, does not work for you, and asks for your social media login information.

Make sure to also enable two-factor authentication. This way, if an attacker tries to log in with your account, you will receive the password required for login, blocking the attacker. In such a case, do not forget to change your password. Also, do not use the same password everywhere, and change the password you use periodically. In addition to all this, do not forget to do the necessary security checks on your Instagram account.