Bonang’s Twitter account hacked

TV and radio personality Bonang Matheba’s Twitter account, which has more than 3 million followers, has allegedly been hacked. A statement on the media personality’s official fan page and her PR company confirmed someone was behind the cyber intrusion.

The page allegedly vanished from social media on Thursday and a statement from her fan page advised that her PR team CSA was aware of the intrusion and hoped to sort the matter out shortly.

Bonang's account appears to have been hacked (currently saying 'user not found'). Please be patient and do not believe any information unless it comes from her directly (on Instagram) or from her team at @CSAglobal_
We hope this will be sort as fast as possible. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/IozdHklqVq

— BForce – Bonang Fans (@The_BForce) February 20, 2019

The fan page advised all her fans to not believe any information unless it came from Bonang’s direct Instagram account or her PR team. An online search for the media personality’s Twitter account results in a message stating that the page does not exist, which could mean the account was taken down or that the account was hacked.

We spoke to developer Adekunle Owolabi, who provided clarity on how social media accounts could be hacked. He said reasons behind the intrusion varied, from someone holding the account to ransom for financial gain or even planning to tarnish the account holder’s name and reputation.

It is apparently more possible and simpler than everyone thinks. He explained how someone could DM the account holder with an offer. The offer could, in Bonang’s case, be a booking for an event. Once the account holder clicks on a certain link (attached to a private message), it would then override the account holder’s account, granting access to the intruder.

A scary situation. Owolabi provided the following tips on how people could protect themselves from cyber intruders.

• Never open unknown applications/sources.
• Be very vigilant with your passwords and try changing passwords as often as you can.
• Limit the amount of personal information about yourself online.
• Avoid posting pictures indicating where you live or geolocating your photos as it may pose a risk to your safety.

He said there were people who had malicious intentions and it was everyone’s responsibility to ensure their private information, such as passwords, would stay safe.

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