Instagram, a social media app owned by Meta, has denied reports of a massive breach, after users reported receiving password reset emails by the platform.
“We fixed an issue that let an external party request password reset emails for some people. There was no breach of our systems and your Instagram accounts are secure. You can ignore those emails — sorry for any confusion,” the company said in a post on X.
On January 9, Malwarebytes, an antivirus software company, wrote on X that cyber criminals have stolen “sensitive information of 17.5 million Instagram accounts, including usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and more”. This data is available for sale on the dark web and can be abused by cybercriminals, it said.
This was reported after hundreds of users claimed that they have received an email from Instagram asking them to reset their passwords.
Reacting to the news, cyber security experts asks people to not click on the link and even asked people to check if they have received an emails from Instagram on their accounts. To do this, users can go to their Account Settings, then go to Account Center, then click Passwords and Security, and click Emails from Instagram to check if the platform has sent them any such email.
