This afternoon (13/03/2020) it was brought to my attention that an account had been created without my knowledge or consent. The account used my full name, photo and a username very similar to mine. It’s important to note that I have not been hacked, rather an account was impersonating mine.
I notified all followers that I could, Issued a warning and contacted Instagram to have the account removed.
How to identify the account impersonating me:
I only use “mattmorrismedia” as a handle across social media. I have made available a tool to verify genuine accounts (click here)
Please note the fake account used an ‘_’ underscore
What happened?
An account was created without my knowledge or consent and used my full name, profile picture and near identical username to deceive people. This account was sending direct messages like the example posted below.
Have you been hacked?
No, my accounts are secure, and important data is stored offline.
I use two-step verification across all accounts, with physical 2FA security, and encrypt all local and offsite data. In regards to any information collected for My Dancing Eyes this data was stored offline and at no time was physically or virtually accessed. It is stored an in encrypted form and can not be read without a decryption key.
What steps I’ve taken
As soon as I was made aware I took action to notify accounts that followed the fake account, I also reported the issue to Instagram and provided photo ID to have the account removed.
What you should do?
- Don’t interact with or open any messages from an account that doesn’t have “mattmorrismedia” as the username.
- Unfollow and block any accounts that you believe are fake.
- Report the account to help me in having it removed.
What to do should you find yourself in this situation?
- Report the account to Instagram using the report impersonation form here, you will need to provide proof of identity.
- Notify your followers of the incident.
- Monitor and report any further accounts.
