Vicky Phelan has revealed she’s retrieved her Instagram account following a recent hack earlier this week.
The mum-of-two, who is currently in the US undergoing a cancer treatment trial, was targeted online.
A hacker took over her social media account and demanded a ransom to give it back.
“I hold your Instagram account. I can use it maliciously if I want or I can take you away from your friends. I am ready to give back the account for $3,500,” the message read.
View this post on Instagram
Heartbroken, Vicky created a new page but last night managed to retrieve her old one.
While she’s delighted to have her pictures and contacts back, she admits she’ll no longer be using that account as she feels it’s now “tainted”.
“We did it! People power did this. I got my original Instagram account back,” she said.
“It is still under a different username which I can’t change back for two whole weeks but I got all my old posts, photos, comments and messages back. It looks like some are missing but most of it is intact.”
She continued, “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 and I will continue to use my NEW hacker-free account @vickykellyphelan.
“Thank you to everyone who reported my hacker and who sent me lovely messages of support. This here is why I love being Irish.”
It’s been a very busy week for Vicky, who also underwent her second round of cancer treatment in Maryland.
“I finally got the wonder drug, M7824 (it’s Pembro 2.0),” she said.
“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.”
Vicky hopes to return to Ireland in roughly five months time, once this round of treatment ends.