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Instagram Responds To Fruit Themed Hack

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The popular video and picture sharing website Instagram has issued a response after a hack attack which affected their 130 million plus users on Saturday.

"Earlier today (Saturday) a small portion of our users experienced a spam incident where unwanted photos were posted from their accounts. Our security and spam team quickly took actions to secure the accounts involved, and the posted photos are being deleted," according to the statement sent to CNET.

According to multiple reports, spammers took over accounts and sent out pictures of fruit with text which directed people to a Bit.ly hyperlink. According to PC Magazine, the photo and accompanying link took users to a fake BBC page that promotes a weight-loss coffee.

The exact scope of the hacking attack is unknown, but more than 30,000 people have clicked on the BBC link. It's also unknown how hackers took over users accounts in the first place.

Bit.ly put a warning page up for the link warning users the link may be malicious. The spam attack was first reported by the website GigaOm.

GigaOm reported the attack was one of the first to hit the Instagram service, which is owned by Facebook. Instagram and Facebook have yet to comment on the apparent attack.

PC Magazine said if you were hacked, change your password, which Instagram is already prompting many users to do. Also, double-check which applications have access to your account to make sure no malicious program has joined the list.

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