Over 10,000 followers on social media? Celebrate, but be on guard against foreign hackers

KOCHI: Crossing 10,000 followers on social media is no small feat and calls for celebration. However, accounts with such a large follower count are potential targets of hackers from China, Nigeria and Africa, as the Kerala cyber police has found.

The threat of foreign hackers came to light when a few social media influencers filed complaints that their accounts in Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and other platforms had been compromised.

In a majority of cases, hackers took control of the accounts by sending influencers an HTTP link asking them to register for a paid partnership programme or account verification process.