back from hack Vicky Phelan has Instagram account restored after alleged hacker says, ‘I can take you away from your friends’

Vicky Phelan has gotten her original Instagram account back after it was hacked but said she won’t be using it as it’s “tainted” in her eyes.

The cervical cancer campaigner had her account hacked in recent days with the perpetrator demanding $3,500 to get it back.

Yesterday, she shared a message that she received on WhatsApp from the alleged hacker.

It read: “I hold the your Instagram account. First of all, I can that it is not possible to restore the account, I have been doing this for 4 years and I have many references, I am expert in this field, I can use your account maliciously if I want or I can take you away from your friends, but my goal is not to harm you.

“I am deducting my earnings from this business and I am ready to give back the account for 3,500 dollars.

“Any action you take to get the account back will have no effect and your account will belong to me forever.

“Therefore, stay away from unnecessary methods and don’t waste time.”

Taking to social media today, Ms Phelan announced that she got her account back and that she’s had “great pleasure” in deleting the hacker’s posts.

However, she said she will continue to use her new account as the old one is tainted and she is only keeping it for her memories.

She wrote: "We did it!!!! People power did this. I got my original Instagram account back.
“I got all my old posts, photos, comments and messages back. It looks like some are missing but most of it is intact.
“I will not go back to using this account. It is tainted in my eyes! I will keep it for the memories that are contained within.
“I will continue to use my NEW hacker-free account @vickykellyphelan
“THANK YOU to everyone who reported my hacker, who screenshotted the various incarnations of my page and who sent me lovely messages of support.
“This here is why I love being Irish.”

Last month Ms Phelan flew to Maryland in the US to take part in a clinical trial.

On Tuesday, the Limerick native began taking a new drug, called M7824, which she deemed “Pembro 2.0”- the drug that she was previously taking in Ireland.

Ms Phelan gives credit to Pembro for allowing her to “really live (her) life and make memories", however, the drug has stopped working for her and thus she decided to join this new trial.

Tweeting to her 53,000 followers on Twitter, she wrote: “And it's going in....Today, I finally got the wonder drug, M7824 (it's Pembro 2.0)

“Here's hoping that this drug does for me what Pembro has achieved - a quality of life that has allowed me to really live my life and make memories

“Thank you to EVERYONE for your well wishes.”

Download the Sunday World app

Now download the free app for all the latest Sunday World News, Crime, Irish Showbiz and Sport. Available on Apple and Android devices

Online Editors