You can add Robert Downey Jr. to the list of celebrities whose social media accounts got hacked this week. The actor's Instagram account was hijacked by unknown individuals that tried to capitalize on the move by posting fake giveaways for Apple products.
Previously this week, the Twitter accounts of Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter, and actress Chloë Moretz fell to the control of a group branding themselves as the Chuckling Squad, who leveraged a vulnerability impacting the Tweet via SMS feature; this was not a bug on Twitter's side but one that mobile carriers need to address.
It is unclear how the hackers managed to take control of Robert Downey Jr's Instagram, but followers of the account could see an enticing announcement that the actor was allegedly sharing his wealth by giving away 2,000 iPhone XS devices and directing followers to his Story page for more offers like this.
This was not all that hackers modified on the account. A link in the account bio pointed followers to a survey page designed to collect personal information.
The hackers used the Bitly URL shortening service to create the link to an location for surveys; the shortened link was still active at the moment of writing.
As visible in the image above, the iPhone XS devices were not the only products used to lure followers to the survey page. Tesla cars, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro computers, and gift cards were also used as temptations.The changes did not survive for long, though.
J.A.R.V.I.S. was probably caught unaware on this one, but as the actor's Twitter followers started to ask qu ..
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