After a few too many phishing scams claimed victims through the Instagram software, the app has built a new feature that allows users to compare any emails received from Instagram, or its parent Facebook, with those the company has actually sent out – as long as its within the last 14 days, which was the time slot selected for this first release. So far, its effectiveness suggests it may stay that way.
The new feature is an “Emails from Instagram” section that can be found under the app’s Security settings, and it lists every email the service has sent you over the last 14 days. That way, emails claiming to be from Instagram can be cross-referenced with the official list that Instagram discloses. The menu divides sent emails into two categories: security emails and “other.” Users can be certain that any email appearing on this list is a safe email to open, and place to provide information such as username and password. Additionally, it’s important to remember that sometimes these emails can come from Facebook on Instagram’s behalf.
However, if an email is not listed there, then it could be a phishing scam, where providing your username and password would leave this sensitive information in the wrong hands, and open the digital doors to other hacks against you. It’s best in this case to simply delete the unverified email. Worst comes to worst, Instagram has provided a set of instructions to follow in order to redeem and protect your account – which can be found on the help page.
Today, phishing scams are becoming more and more advanced. Even two-factor authentication has been beat by some phishing scams already. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth using to keep your accounts safe – but the extra caution is just as necessary to ensure its protection. For more information, check out an episode from a couple of years ago by Reply All on this issue.
Since the update has only just been released, it may still take some time to appear in everyone’s settings.