Celebrity chef falls victim to hackers. How to protect yourself...

Pippa Hudson speaks with Consumer Journalist Wendy Knowler.

Listen below.

Cybercrime can happen to any of us, and the effects can be devastating.

Masterchef SA judge Pete Goffe-Wood was a recent victim after hackers got into his Instagram account.

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This all started when a friend sent him a link to sign up for his online store, and as soon as he followed the link the hackers got full access.

“Unbeknownst to me, his account had also been hacked.”

- Pete Goffe-Wood, judge - Masterchef SA

Many attempts to reclaim his account failed and he lost 14 000 followers.

The hackers even changed the details of his two-step authentication, so he could not close or reset the account.

These hackers have been trying to get Goffe-Wood's followers to invest in a Bitcoin scheme.

One of his followers lost $15 000 to this scheme, thinking he was talking to Goffe-Wood.

He has set up a new account (@chefpetegw), but the experience has cost him a loss in brand equity and is impacting his income opportunities.

There are some ways to keep your account safe, to avoid this from happening to you.

Verify who is sending you links

If you get a link from one of your friends, ask them to confirm how they know you.

A hacker will try to convince you the link is legitimate, but will not know the details of your relationship.

Set up two-factor authentication

Most social media platforms have multiple levels of authentication, which you should always enable.

“These are crimes that carry a five to 10-year sentence.” 

- Prof Sylvia Papadopoulos, Cyber law expert

“The more that these cases go to the police, the better equipped they will become.”

- Prof Sylvia Papadopoulos, Cyber law expert

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.