Cork councillor issues warning after social media account is hacked

A Cork public representative is warning the public after her personal Instagram account was hacked.

Cork County Councillor Mary Linehan Foley said she received a message pertaining to be from a friend on Instagram asking her to vote for him in a golf tournament.

After clicking on a link, she was sent an SMS text message which she opened and followed through a link and then she had lost access and control of her Instagram account.

Speaking to The Echo, Mrs Linehan Foley said it was the morning after attending a wedding and she was not fully together when she got the message.

“I got a message and followed the link and the link on the text message and I messaged him back to say I think I had voted, but there was nothing at the end of the link and he replied: ‘What are you talking about?’ and I knew there was something up then.” 

The Councillor said her friend told her he was hacked and that her profile was being used to message some of her 1000 followers asking for money, seeking investment in various things, and putting up Instagram stories under her name promoting investment in things.

Mrs Linehan Foley said it is very upsetting as it is a personal Instagram account, not a work account and it is just pictures of her and her family and it is now being used and exploited by hackers.

The councillor said her son reported the issue to Instagram and even sent a message to the hackers hoping to gather information but to no avail.

Mrs Linehan Foley said she had not reported it to the Gardaí as she was not sure if what was happening was a garda issue.

Following a query from The Echo, the Garda Press Office said: “Anyone who feels they have been the victim of a crime is encouraged to contact their local Garda station and report the matter.”