Unfortunately, I have become an expert in a subject I never wanted to be an expert on. After having 2 of my Instagram accounts hacked or disabled this year within the span of 6 months, I now know a sure fire way to get your Instagram back up and running. If you’re reading this, you either are in the same situation I was in where you have somehow lost access to your account, or you wondered where @traderjoesfoodreviews went the past few days. Either way, this is VALUABLE information to keep in your back pocket in case you ever find yourself in this situation, and if you are currently locked out of your account, I’m sorry. I know just how hard it is!

To start, earlier this year, I woke up unable to log into my @costcofoodreviews Instagram. Someone changed the email and phone number on the account, I couldn’t reset the password, and I assumed I had gotten hacked. If you ever find yourself in this position, DO NOT GIVE UP! I was extremely motivated to get my account back because social media is my full time job. At almost 50k followers on @costcofoodreviews and almost 575k on @traderjoesfoodreviews, I truly couldn’t afford to lose either account. I tried a million new things every day to get back into my Costco food reviews account. I filled out every form I could get my hands on and watched every youtube seeking out advice. I did this for 3 WEEKS, and let me tell you, those 3 weeks were incredibly hard.

I couldn’t afford to sit around and wait for my account to come back, I assumed it was gone and immediately started a back up account and rebuilt it to almost 30k, thankfully. While I was unable to get back into my Costco account, I had a very special brand deal I had signed onto a couple days before I was hacked. This was a dream brand I had always wanted to work with and that motivated me even more to rebuild a back up account instead of sitting around hoping and praying my account would come back.

WHAT FINALLY WORKED

After filling out hundreds of forms almost every minute of every day, sending photos of myself holding up random codes IG would send me to get back into my account, none of that worked. What finally worked was the most amazing Meta employee who followed me, saw that I had been posting about my account being hacked, and submitted an internal ticket for me. I kid you not, within 48 hours, I had full access to @costcofoodreviews again. THANK GOODNESS!

Now, onto @traderjoesfoodreviews.

3 days ago, I woke up unable to log into my account and got a pop up message saying my account was disabled. This is the message below:

After filling out this form, it said that in 24 hours if they could verify my information and account, I should have access again. Instead of waiting around this time, I reached directly out to my contact from Meta (a literal angle on earth who has been SO SWEET in helping me), and she submitted an internal ticket the morning I was locked out. 24 hours came and went, and I was still getting the same message when I tried to log in. Again, when Instagram is your business, you have ongoing projects with brands, this was all very sad and stressful for me. Luckily, again, within 48 hours, my meta contact informed me this was a mistake and I had access to my account again. LITERALLY BEST FEELING EVER.

Sooo, after now experiencing being hacked and having a disabled account twice now in one year, I can confidently say the quickest, and only way I’ve found, to get your account back is to have someone who works at Meta submit an internal ticket on your behalf. Network on linkedin or text all of your friends and see if they know anyone who works for Meta.

I’ll leave you with some of my best advice I’ve learned from this experience.

ADVICE:

Liability Insurance: I am not an insurance agent, and by no means an expert on the subject, so please consult with an actual licensed agent on this matter and do not act before consulting with one. However, if social media is your full time job, it may be smart to research what type of insurance will cover you and your lost wages if you are hacked or your account is disabled.

Back up accounts: Start a backup account TODAY and let your followers know to follow you there. It feels way better knowing you have a safety net if this were to happen to you in the future.

Meta connection: THE MOST important piece of advice in my opinion. Start networking now.

Always have a plan B: There is always a possibility that social media may go away or evolve to something else. You can’t rely solely on a private company that you don’t own to house your business for you. What is your backup? Do you have an email list? Product to sell? Etc. Start thinking up a plan B now so you could continue to support yourself without social media if it were to disappear suddenly.

I hope and pray you are never in this situation, but hope that if you do find yourself with lost access to your account, this advice can help you to get back in. Go follow @traderjoesfoodreviews and @costcofoodreviews on Instagram and feel free to message me over there if you ever need anymore help with this.