In late November, a new push to scam people using Instagram was made. A lot of users reported receiving a message that invited them to “tap to reset Instagram password”.
The message (Tap to Reset Instagram Password) is very likely a phishing campaign, as it comes from an unknown number and contains a very suspicious link. The link points to ig.me, followed by a random string. There are several red flags surrounding this text message.
First of all, Instagram would never send you a text message requesting a password change. If there is any legitimate need for you to change your password, Instagram would send you an e-mail, not a random text message coming from an unknown number.
Secondly, the text message does not list any specific reason why you should change your password – there is no mention of any issue that would warrant a password change.
Curiously, more or less the exact same Instagram password reset scam has been active on and off for a decade. There are very old reports from users who received more or less the same message as an SMS and the number it came from was the one used in November 2020 – “326-65”.
The Internet is actually full of questions dating back years and years, with users receiving suspicious messages related to both Facebook and Instagram from this number. The consensus in all those discussions is that those messages are either phishing attempts or some sort of scam.
Avoiding any text messages or links that come from numbers you don’t recognize is always a good idea. The same rule applies to e-mails – any mail where you can’t recognize the sender’s address is best immediately deleted. Those usually contain malicious links that will either attempt to download malware on your system or steal your credentials in a fake login form.
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