Last Night I Dreamt's social commerce lockdown lifeline hacked
Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past year, you’ll know that the coronavirus pandemic has hit bricks and mortar sales hard, pushing retailers to embrace digital platforms to connect with their customers.
For many, regardless of size, Instagram has proven to be a lifeline. But for one UK-based independent jewellery boutique that lifeline has been stolen away.
Rebecca Gibbions, owner of Last Night I Dream, which was established in 2015, explains: “On Sunday evening, my account was hacked by an unknown source masquerading as Instagram.”
“They very quickly added two-factor authentication and, after that, I received an email blackmailing me if I wanted to get my account back.”
She adds: “I escalated this to the UK Cyber Fraud police team who contacted Facebook/Instagram directly on my behalf as I have no access to my account.”
“However, the police have said that it’s now up to me to get my account back but no-one will answer me. I am completely powerless.”
Gibbions has over 11,000 followers who engage with her business and regularly swipe up to buy from her stories. In fact, around 50% of her revenue comes via Instagram.
“The loss of my account, whether it be temporary or short-term – especially whilst non-essential retail remains closed – is utterly devastating,” she says.
Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, much research has been released pointing to a hike in cybercrime.
However, should the worst happen, businesses would hope to access support in getting back on track. Yet Gibbions argues that this couldn’t have been further from the truth.
She says: “I pour thousands of pounds into Instagram for advertising each year and the very least they could do is to provide helpdesk support with an actual email and phone number for their huge volume of worldwide businesses.”
“Until they get in touch with me, I have no way of opening my account again.”
She concludes: “Small businesses are facing their hugest mountain to climb in a global pandemic. Instagram has until now been a lifeline for me during each lockdown.”
“And yet now I find myself in a position where the very tech giant I depended on, is the very organisation that isn’t helping, listening or responding to me.”
Instagram did not respond to our request for comment.
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