Followed by 1 Million, Instagram’s top executive Adam Mosseri was declared dead by its App: Instagram. His account was locked in September when a notorious scammer named Syenrai misused the app’s memorialization feature to report him dead, reports Vice. The memorialization feature that is also available on Facebook was then introduced to Instagram a few months before.
Instagram’s memorialization feature allows the users to report the death of any account holder, followed by a death certificate, an obituary, or even a new article mentioning the name of the deceased. Spanking the word ‘Remembering,’ Instagram will prevent anyone from logging into the account and making changes to the posts.
This week, Instagram has publicized the news of Adam Mosseri’s account getting locked in a few month back. The company further added that Mosseri restored his access to the platform within no time. Contradicting, the hacker; Syenrai reported to Vice’s Motherboard Magazine that other users who have had got their accounts memorialized in the same pattern have had to wait for days and weeks to regain access.
I find it ridiculous how such things can happen on the platform under its surveillance, said Syrenai. How simple and easy is it to leverage Instagram’s mysterious features, he added while reporting to Vice.
Syenrai provided the screenshots of emails they sent to Instagram - to get the account locked by reporting Mosser’s false death. He further told that it takes 1-2 days for the support to process and Instagram will request a death certificate, news article, or obituary mentioning the name of the deceased. In this case, they were successful in creating a fake obituary online. The hacker also revealed that there are 98% of chances for a fake obituary to memorialize the targeted profile, only if the obituary is a week recent.
According to Syenrai, most of the accounts they memorialize are request-based and are also paid. Motherboard calculated that Instagram banners charge as low as $60 for their services.
To nullify all the trolls, Instagram’s spokesperson told Vice that similar to all other internet services, the company has online forms to report suspicious activities or inform the death of any user. However, for those who misuse them, the social media giant hires cybersecurity specialists who investigate scammer tactics.
Syenrai believes that to get an account memorialized and make Instagram believe that you are the owner of the account, it's very crucial to have an accurate date of birth and at least one picture of yourself archived.
Back in Vice, an anonymous user opened while talking to Vice and revealed that activities like these are becoming more common now, in fact, it has become a part-time job, with people earning a five-figure salary in a month.
Read next: Instagram’s creator subscriptions approaching soon, implies the App Store listing
Instagram’s memorialization feature allows the users to report the death of any account holder, followed by a death certificate, an obituary, or even a new article mentioning the name of the deceased. Spanking the word ‘Remembering,’ Instagram will prevent anyone from logging into the account and making changes to the posts.
This week, Instagram has publicized the news of Adam Mosseri’s account getting locked in a few month back. The company further added that Mosseri restored his access to the platform within no time. Contradicting, the hacker; Syenrai reported to Vice’s Motherboard Magazine that other users who have had got their accounts memorialized in the same pattern have had to wait for days and weeks to regain access.
I find it ridiculous how such things can happen on the platform under its surveillance, said Syrenai. How simple and easy is it to leverage Instagram’s mysterious features, he added while reporting to Vice.
Syenrai provided the screenshots of emails they sent to Instagram - to get the account locked by reporting Mosser’s false death. He further told that it takes 1-2 days for the support to process and Instagram will request a death certificate, news article, or obituary mentioning the name of the deceased. In this case, they were successful in creating a fake obituary online. The hacker also revealed that there are 98% of chances for a fake obituary to memorialize the targeted profile, only if the obituary is a week recent.
According to Syenrai, most of the accounts they memorialize are request-based and are also paid. Motherboard calculated that Instagram banners charge as low as $60 for their services.
To nullify all the trolls, Instagram’s spokesperson told Vice that similar to all other internet services, the company has online forms to report suspicious activities or inform the death of any user. However, for those who misuse them, the social media giant hires cybersecurity specialists who investigate scammer tactics.
Syenrai believes that to get an account memorialized and make Instagram believe that you are the owner of the account, it's very crucial to have an accurate date of birth and at least one picture of yourself archived.
Back in Vice, an anonymous user opened while talking to Vice and revealed that activities like these are becoming more common now, in fact, it has become a part-time job, with people earning a five-figure salary in a month.
Read next: Instagram’s creator subscriptions approaching soon, implies the App Store listing