Kristian Bech got himself something of a surprise over the weekend when, to his horror, he discovered that he had been the victim of a crime.
Unknown perpetrators had hacked the TV host’s Instagram account and demanded $ 200 in bitcoins to give it back to him, he writes in a post on the same media. An experience that has made Kristian insecure to such an extent.
– It runs cold down my spine because I think; what happens here? I panic a bit, because all of a sudden it dawns on me that it is a work tool, and I come to think of all the private inquiries I have received from people in connection with my work, says Kristian Bech to Ekstra Bladet .
– I am most worried that something will be posted in my name. Then I may well make a new profile and deny it, but there will be some who do not see it. I only have one thing in relation to my work and that is my credibility. People need to trust me and believe that what I am doing is okay, he continues.
Here it goes wrong
The whole ballad has arisen on the basis of a request to have his Instagram profile verified with a blue tick to mark that the TV host’s account is genuine.
When 46-year-old Bech subsequently receives an email that the request has been approved, he clicks on a link and logs in to his Instagram account, which he is notified of in the email. And then it goes completely wrong.
– Everything looks so professional in this email. It only takes a moment, then I get a message on Whatsapp stating if I want the access to my account back. Then I open my Instagram app on my phone, where I usually have automatic access, but I have been logged out, says Kristian, who continues:
– The next message is: If you want, you have to pay $ 200 via bitcoin.com (…) If you do not answer, I will have to delete your account. I hate to do that, my friend.
Subsequently, the TV host went on YouTube where he found a video that made him wiser about what he could do to regain control of his account. Kristian had to upload a video of himself, after which Instagram compared it down the photos on his profile, and when there was a match, he was sent a code that gave him access to the account.
– With my background as a former police officer, I am completely provoked by it, but it was also a kind of eye opener for me, because in the future I will definitely be more careful on the social media, says Kristian Bech, who is incredibly happy to have his Instagram profile left.
– I have spent seven years building my Instagram and using it both privately and in a work context, so it is very nice that I have control over it again.
Bech hosts ‘Station 2’ and has most recently spearheaded the program ‘As sunk into the ground’.