Members of a theft ring based in Minnesota were charged with stealing bank funds. To gain access to some accounts they used account numbers found on Instagram.

Members of a theft ring based in Minnesota were charged with stealing or attempting to steal more than 2 million dollars in bank funds.

It’s said they got a good amount of the information they used from paycheck selfies posted on Instagram.

The group typed in popular hashtags like ‘my first paycheck’ and ‘first paycheck ever’ to pull up the particulars they were looking for.

Once they had the photos, they made easy work of opening new accounts and creating and passing fraudulent checks.

Their operation has been described as being quite organized.

At the top of the pyramid were three forgers. Beneath them were a number of recruiters who located and enlisted helpful participants.

In at least two cases, they were able to get bank employees on board. One initiate was a manager at a financial institution.

The people who actually went in and did the risky check cashing comprised yet another tier in the criminal organization.

While getting one’s first check is certainly a momentous occasion, it’s advisable to refrain from sharing the event via social media, particularly if the documentation includes sensitive account information.

Authorities say doing so is essentially granting criminals full access to your funds.