Instagram is also affected by phishing - criminals send emails and SMS in the name of the social network in order to obtain login data and steal accounts. Phishing is the name given to emails that come from fraudsters and look like they are from a well-known company. The youth portal Checked4You from the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center reports from its own experience.
The most important things in brief
- Instagram never sends important account information as a direct message, but rather via email if at all.
- If you receive an email like this, pay attention to the sender! Real emails from Instagram only come from @mail.instagram.com or @facebookmail.com.
- In the Insta app, you can see from a list in the settings whether Instagram has actually sent an email to you.
- We'll show you step by step how to get to this list.
Made-up rule violations
The emails can look deceptively real, as this example from October 1, 2021 shows. It was sent to our editorial team:

Or rather simple, like this email from September 24, 2022:

These emails claim that we have violated copyright rules and that our account will be blocked or deleted - if we do not object using the blue button or text link. Fraudulent emails often say that you need to update data or that there was a login problem. Then there is a link to a website where you should enter your data. Stop! This is where the trap lies. Because the page that the links lead to was built by the fraudsters and you give them your data! They can then log into Instagram using your account and lock you out because they change your password.
Tip: If you want to know whether a post you made actually violates Instagram rules, you can check your account settings. We explain how to get there in this guide .
Verification Badge: False Promises!
Another popular scam: Luring with the well-known blue tick, which identifies an account as real after its name. But important to know: Instagram never actively offers this badge - neither via direct message nor via email! You must request it through your account settings. That's why an email like this (from August 2022) is always phishing :

Attempted fraud via SMS
Criminals also try to steal your Insta account login details via SMS. You shouldn't respond to such messages either! , a text that Instagram would never send via SMS is: “Hello users! The post owner complained about the post you shared on your account due to copyright issues, so we sent you this message. Instagram will send you a link via SMS, copy it and send it here to us without clicking on it so that we can confirm that you are the owner of this account; if not within 24 hours, your account will be permanently deactivated. Reply 'Hello' to receive the link. Please do not ignore this or your account will be deactivated.”
This is how you can protect yourself
You should always check whether Instagram really sent you an email! There are two easy ways to do this:
- Check the sender! Instagram and Facebook only send you emails from the domains @mail.instagram.com and @facebookmail.com, writes Instagram on this page .
- Check your Insta app! In the security section, the social network shows you which emails it has sent you recently. If there is no entry there, your email is definitely not genuine!
Here we explain how to get to the email list in your app.

Important: Instagram writes in this help text that you will never receive security-related messages about your account as direct messages, but only to the email address you provided. This makes it all the more important to remember to change your email address on Instagram if you ever change it!
Source:
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1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

