The police said they had received reports of fake social media accounts pretending to belong to politicians on Saturday, days after advising users to take extra precautions online.

Politicians and individuals who are in the public eye have fallen victim to hackers, and fake Instagram and Facebook accounts have been set up to emulate them, the police said. No further details were given. 

Times of Malta has been informed that the police receive more than 20 reports of hacked Instagram accounts weekly. 

Both Instagram and Facebook are owned by the same company, Meta. 

Hackers often target social media accounts with high numbers of followers to try to trick an account's followers into investing in scams. 

Earlier this year, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli’s Twitter account was hacked, and her content was replaced by posts promoting the sale of video games consoles. 

Last year, Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri also filed a police report, after his social media accounts were hacked. 

What can you do to keep safe online?

1. Do not comply with any requests received to pay any money;
2. Refrain from clicking on any links especially from non-trusted sources or when you are doubting the source;