Liam Payne targeted after girlfriend Cheryl's Instagram is hacked

An abusive message directed at Liam Payne was posted on his girlfriend Cheryl's Instagram account after she fell victim to hackers.

Fans of the former Girls Aloud singer were left shocked after several bizarre messages popped up on her account on Monday morning (24Oct16).

Among them was one which read, "666 F**K LIAM PAYNE", which appeared alongside an image of an upside down cross, an anti-Christian symbol.

Another post appearing alongside the Satanic Pentagram symbol read, "HAIL SATAN 666 B**CH THATS WHAT WE DO".

Twitter and Instagram users were quick to alert Cheryl to the security issue and a spokesperson for Cheryl told British newspaper The Independent, "We are aware and we are sorting it out at the moment."

Three photographs and messages, one of which identified the hackers responsible as the 'Cyber Wolf Gang', were removed after roughly 15 minutes.

Neither Cheryl nor Liam had commented on the hack at the time of WENN going to press.

Last week (end23Oct16) Cheryl, who went public about her romance with the One Direction star in February (16), finalized her divorce from ex-husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini.

Rumors the 33-year-old musician is pregnant were heightened last month (Sep16) after Cheryl's mom Joan Callaghan was seen in British high street store Mothercare buying supplies.

Social media posts by Liam, 23, have also fueled speculation Cheryl is expecting as he changed his Instagram profile to read, "happiest man in the world".