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Instagram is now notifying users whose accounts were involved in the recent surge of hacks by cybercriminals. This problem, connected to Meta AI, came to light last week when numerous users stated that hackers were using the AI chatbot to gain access to Instagram accounts. The tech company based in Menlo Park announced that the issue has been resolved; however, reports of hacked accounts continued to appear even after they revealed the fix. Meta is taking steps to protect the compromised accounts and inform those who might be affected. The attacks took advantage of a weakness in Meta's AI support system. This reportedly allowed hackers to seize control of Instagram accounts through basic interactions with the chatbot. They supposedly told the AI chatbot that they owned a specific account and requested it be linked to an email that they controlled. In some instances, the chatbot reportedly agreed to these requests, letting the attackers reset passwords and access the victims' accounts.

This attack seems to have targeted a range of accounts, including those with sought-after short usernames. There are also reports that several prominent accounts were involved in the incident. Earlier this week, Meta representative Andy Stone stated that the security flaw had been addressed. However, additional users reported account takeovers even after the company announced the fix. In a follow-up post on X, Stone mentioned that some users might get password reset alerts or be prompted with security questions when trying to log in. In a statement to TechCrunch, an official confirmed that the company had secured the affected accounts and started sending password reset emails to those impacted. However, they did not reveal how many accounts had been compromised. Users also posted screenshots of warning emails received from Instagram, notifying them that suspicious activities had been detected on their accounts. The notice informed users that Instagram suspected their accounts might have been hacked and that security measures had been taken. Users who were affected were advised to change their passwords.