UPDATE 2: 10 April '24. I've bitten the bullet and started a new Instagram page under the username dannymcshane365 (you can't re-use one that has been terminated). All the IG link buttons now go to my new 'safe' page rather than my old dannymcshane365art one was hacked. I'm not going to re-post 300+ paintings, but just let it roll from here on with occasional 'back catalogue' posts. A surprisingly difficult thing is trying to find the 340 folk I was following -the top 30 are so are easy, being friends and regular contacts, but all those further. flung ones I happened across and followed for their work are much harder to reassemble. It also means all my comments and likes on their work will have vanished too. But I've given up hope of Mr Instagram ever getting round to giving me my original site back, despite asking him nicely twenty or so times.
UPDATE 1: As of Friday 29th March, my stolen Instagram account has been terminated, which was the second best outcome, I suppose. I have heard of Instagram eventually returning accounts to the rightful owner, weeks or even months later, but I've also heard this being the end of the story. Apologies to my 300-odd followers and thanks to all who 'unfollowed me and tried to report the account.
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As of Saturday 23rd March 2024, my Instagram account dannymcshane365art has been hacked and I'm locked out of it. Instagram are not proving helpful or even contactable. So now it is being used as a sock puppet account to run an NFT scam. The priced painting in this screenshot was the hacker's doing, and they may be sending out messages in my name.
If you can report dannymcshane365art on Instagram as Hacked, that might help me get Insta's attention and the account frozen or eventually rercovered. I've left the little instagram links active in my menu just so you can report it more easily. To report it, you can report the site rather than a post and options vary by the country you are in, just pick the closest to "hacked"; "impersonating someone you follow"; "counterfeit" or whatever.
My instagram account still looks mostly like it did, though the hacker has blurred my profile photo slightly and added spurious prices to some of my photos and altered text and removed comments. Subtle for now, but I have no control over it and they can send messages in my name from it.
For the record, I don't sell NFTs nor deal in crypto currency, and my paintings cost less than £150. To safely buy any of my paintings, I just make a deal by email and we figure out a payment method that suits us both, nothing in the sale is automated or impersonal.
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