Police said they received reports of fake social media accounts claiming to belong to politicians on Saturday, days after advising users to take extra precautions online.
Politicians and individuals in the public eye have fallen victim to hackers, and fake Instagram and Facebook accounts have been created to imitate them, police said. No other details were given.
Malta weather was informed that the police receive more than 20 reports of hacked Instagram accounts every week.
Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company, Meta.
Hackers often target social media accounts with a high number of followers to try to trick an account’s followers into investing in scams.
Earlier this year, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli’s Twitter account was hacked and its content was replaced with messages promoting the sale of video game consoles.
Last year Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri also filed a police report, after his social media accounts were hacked.
What can you do to stay safe online?
- Fail to comply with requests received to pay money;
- Refrain from clicking on links, especially from unreliable sources or where you doubt the source;
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