Kristian Bech Instagram profile was hacked, and then he was blackmailed
TV 2 host’s Instagram profile was hacked, and then he was blackmailed, but he managed to regain control

Kristian Bech managed to regain control of his Instagram account using a simple video. Photo: Jonas Olufson

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.

Bech was originally trained as a police assistant, before in 2015 he hosted the Channel 5 program 'Wanted - with Kristian Bech'. Photo: Mogens Flindt
Bech was originally trained as a police assistant, before in 2015 he hosted the Channel 5 program ‘Wanted – with Kristian Bech’. Photo: Mogens Flindt

No help to download from Instagram
Kristian therefore hurried to contact Instagram for help when the seriousness dawned on him. But it was easier said than done because social media does not have a customer service or links to a place one can get help.

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’.

The first messages from the hackers. Photo: Private
The first messages from the hackers. Photo: Private

The messages continue. Photo: Private
The messages continue. Photo: Private

By Editor

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