Saturday

Cybercriminals


This past week my "Facebook" page was  snatched by Cybercriminals.

The FB Team, bless their hearts, hijacked my page and closed it down.


What I went through, to prove to them through numerous messages and e'mails 
"I was me and I am who I said I am" was not easy. I had to answer many questions just to prove to them "It's me".


One thing, the FB Team is very cautious while investigating the spammers.


It all started while I was on  the phone talking to my daughter.. She said during our conversation, "Mom, why are you saying hi to me on the FB chat"?  (she knows I have never used that chat)
No, I said, I'm not on the computer or in facebook.... "Yes you are", right now your chat popped up and said "Hi there".... then I told her to answer them.  She did and they said to her, "I'm in Trouble, I'm in London and was robbed at gunpoint last night"....
What?  She said to me on the phone?  "Who is this"??
Well, she got out of there fast!
Then about 10 minutes later my niece called to say "Her husband also got the same chat on his FB page", from me....  "Aunt Sandy is not in London, is she"?

Without my contacting the Facebook Team, they must have been monitoring my page because they "Shut it down" and sent me an e'mail telling me "I have been spammed by Cybercriminals in a money scheme"


As I said before, numerous e'mails back and forth with the FB Team, my page was finally released back to me today!   It took 5 days to investigate!

For all of you with a Facebook page be careful with who you Friend... I left my page partially open as most bloggers do wanting to get more traffic but now, I have it totally on "Private"... it's just not worth the trouble.  My page is now just for family as I have many around the world and I need to be in contact with them.
I've changed all my passwords on all pages I log into.

Here is a bit of the e'mail from the Facebook Team to me, I'm posting it to help you keep your page safe....

 * * * * * *


Our systems indicate that your Facebook account has been compromised by cybercriminals attempting to impersonate you. These criminals often will try to trick your friends into sending them money by claiming that you are stuck in a far away location and in need of assistance. It is possible that your email account was compromised as well, as obtaining access to a victim’s email is one of the primary ways these cybercriminals have been operating. Please take the following steps to ensure the security of your Facebook account going forward:

1. Select a new, unique password for any email address associated with your account, making sure to avoid using the same password for any account.

2. Verify that you control all of the email addresses associated with your account on the Contact Email section at:

https://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php

3. If you have not done so already, please add a security question to your account from the Account Settings page.

4. Visit the following page for more information about Facebook security and how to report suspicious material:

http://www.facebook.com/security

Finally, if you think you have been victimized by fraud, you can report this to Western Union's fraud hotline by calling 1-800-448-1492.

Thanks,

The Facebook Team



I can't tell you how much my Facebook page has become important to me... It's the only way I can keep track of my family... It's good to be back up and running!

Thank you to the "Facebook Team" for all your help!

New update..... turns out this all started because someone hijacked my yahoo e'mail password and went from there... they got into many of my web sites, the ones I had passwords to... 99% of those sites all had different passwords that I made up.
They even tried to buy something on one of my retail sites..
As for online banking, mine assured me their site is secure, but I changed that password also.
Thieves are everywhere. Be Careful!
Is anything sacred anymore?
Today I changed passwords in 6 of my important sites . 
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1 comment:

Granny said...

I deactivated my facebook page. I just didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.