Major Social Networks Target Sellers of Hacked Accounts

Last week, several major social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter—launched a joint campaign to crack down on users involved in selling hacked accounts. As a result, representatives from these networks identified hundreds of profiles playing a key role in this criminal scheme.

Investigators analyzing the activities of these offenders traced them to a specific cybercriminal forum called OGUsers. On this platform, thousands of people sell access to hacked accounts on social networks and websites.

Facebook representatives told Brian Krebs of KrebsOnSecurity that they managed to ban hundreds of accounts, most of which were on Instagram. The criminals behind these accounts used various tactics to attack users, including hacking, intimidation, extortion, blackmail, sextortion, SIM swapping, and more.

Twitter representatives confirmed to Krebs that, together with Facebook specialists, they participated in the operation against malicious accounts attempting to sell hacked user profiles.

One of the accounts that caught the attention of investigators had more than four thousand followers on Instagram. The account, named “Trusted,” was actively involved in the OGUsers forum and even mentioned this in its profile description.

Experts Urge Users to Strengthen Account Security

Experts once again urged social media account owners to maximize the security of their accounts. It is extremely important to create a strong password and enable two-factor authentication (2FA).

Moreover, since Twitter and Facebook now support security keys, users are encouraged to take advantage of this additional layer of protection. With these measures, regular users can expect a higher level of security for their accounts.