(WSVN) - It is being called a hacking epidemic. The number of social media accounts being overtaken by hackers is skyrocketing.
Even influencers with huge followings are finding it tough to get help from Facebook and Instagram, so one turned to Seven’s Kevin Ozebek for help in tonight’s 7 Investigates.
Are you feeling lonely and in need of love?
Natalie Clarice, relationship influencer: “Women cannot complain about men until they get better taste in men.”
If so, Natalie Clarice is the influencer to follow.
From her Broward home, she dishes out the dating advice.
Natalie Clarice: “It’s simple: he don’t like you. If he don’t call you, he don’t like you.”
Some of her no-nonsense videos rack up millions of views.
Natalie Clarice: “I am a true influencer, and I love what I do, absolutely.”
On Instagram, more than 220,000 followed her account at @natalieclaricelovenotes.
It was a crucial source of new clients for her matchmaking company.
Until a few weeks ago.
Natalie Clarice: “Oh, my God. All right, so I received a DM, OK, that appeared to be from Instagram, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ because it was saying they wanted to verify me.”
Natalie clicked this link in her direct messages and filled out a form that asked for information like her password and phone number to “verify” her details.
She thought this was her ticket to a coveted “blue check” given to high profile influencers and celebrities.
But Natalie soon realized that the DM was from a hacker.
Natalie Clarice: “They got me, and then I started receiving messages from the hacker asking for money.”
Natalie refused to pay, and watched as English turned to Turkish on her account, and all her viral videos vanished.
She filled out a form to notify Instagram of the hack.
Natalie Clarice: “However, as of today, I still have not heard anything from Instagram. There is no one you can reach, talk to, can assist you in this matter.”
To satisfy upset influencers, and everyday users, there is now “Meta Verified.”
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, is offering stronger security and a live customer support chat, but it’s going to cost you about $15 a month.
Dr. Nancy Richmond, social media professor, Florida International University: “As a customer, that seems really strange. It’s kind of like a car, and it’s like, ‘Suddenly we’re going to make you pay to have seat belts.’ So it’s like, well, why can’t I just use the seat belts?”
As for Natalie’s account, we sent email after email to Meta.
We finally got a response after we sent the company this: A group of Turkish men livestreaming on her page.
They seemed to get a kick out of me joining the stream.
A Meta spokesman then got Natalie access back to her account and told us: “…We’re constantly investing in ways to support people on our platform when they fall victim to off-platform phishing attacks. We urge people to avoid clicking on suspicious links posing to come from legitimate companies and asking for your social media credentials.”
Natalie Clarice: “Thank you, Meta. Thank you. But most importantly, thank you Channel 7 and Kevin Ozebek. I don’t even understand why you’re single. I really don’t. I mean, what are you doing, Kevin? What are you doing?”
Well, after following your advice, maybe I won’t be single for long.
Kevin Ozebek, 7News.
CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.