The following press release was sent out by Cigars for Warriors today:

Ocala, FL –Operation: Cigars For Warriors

What Happened

On July 29th, 2021 members of CFW’s volunteer staff discovered that they were unable to access our Instagram account @cigarsforwarriors.

At that time, we learned that an unknown individual had compromised the account’s security and changed both the login information and account name (to s0sy4log). Since then we have received a number of contemporaneous reports that the account has been used to send unusual posts and messages to our followers.

What We Are Doing

We have made numerous efforts to contact Instagram Support to resolve the issue and will continue to work to restore the account. In the meantime, we will be creating a new CFW IG account @Official_Cigars_for_Warriors and migrating our content there.

In addition, we are reviewing the security posture for all our social media accounts to ensure they are protected. We are not aware of any other compromised accounts or services at this time.

We will continue to monitor and assess the situation and we may be able to share additional information as we learn more.

How You Can Help

If you receive unsolicited posts or messages from @cigarsforwarriors, please immediately report them to Instagram and indicate that the account was hacked. If you receive any posts or messages from @herusofc or s0sy4log regarding the CFW account, please report them as well.

Although the account itself has been compromised, our hashtags are not. Please do continue to use those.

Operation: Cigars for Warriors is a registered 501(c)3 charity operating nationwide whose mission is to provide premium cigars and cigar accessories to US troops serving in active combat zones. Since 2012, over 1.2 million cigars have been donated to US servicemen and women, in addition to coffee, magazines, cigar lighters and cutters.