A number of Instagram users have allegedly fallen victim to a hack which locks them out of their accounts.

In a report by Mashable, users claim to have not only lost access to their accounts, but have had them completely taken over.

One Instagram user says that, after discovering they had been locked out of their account, they found that it was now tied to a .ru email address.

Another user stated that their profile picture, profile name, password and Facebook linked account had all been changed.

These are just two cases but if you cast an eye over at Twitter you will find many people begging the firm to help them regain access.

Instagram has, for its part, said that it is investigating the matter but has offered some advice for users that might’ve lost access to their account.

“If you received an email from us notifying you of a change in your email address, and you did not initiate this change – please click the link marked ‘revert this change’ in the email, and then change your password,” said Instagram in a blog post.

Users can also follow this guide to regain access to their account.

Right now it’s unclear whether this is a hack or a case of poor password hygiene. Given the number of people complaining and the fact that accounts are suddenly being captured, our best guess is that this might be a coordinated attack.

Of course that is just us taking a stab in the dark.

While we wait for more news it might be a good time to change your Instagram password, review the apps that have been granted access to Instagram and vice versa. We also recommend turning on two factor authentication.

[Image – CC BY 2.0 Blogtrepreneur]