FB Hacked and no Lookin Back

  

Hacked and no lookin back. It was a calm Sunday evening late in January when a good friend from Santa Cruz (where I recently moved from) called and left a message saying “…I know it wasn’t you, brother, but there’s a couple of pretty disturbing videos on your facebook page and wanted to give you a heads up to get proactive on it…” Minutes later, my facebook page was gone. Taken down by facebook technology. Gone.

Meanwhile, I started getting email notifications that someone was trying to change my password, from all corners of the country.

The ensuing month-long roller coaster of simply trying to get through to someone, anyone in the facebook kingdom, to say IT. WASN’T. ME!!! repeatedly fell on deaf ears, or no ears at all. I was able to get through to the FB reporting page by using my iPhone (rather than computer) and lodged a complaint stating that none of this was me, please help! Eventually in a few days, they responded that they needed a copy of my driver’s license to prove it was me. Reluctantly (gulp) I complied and since then, for a month now, get this message whenever I try going to the old facebook page. Pretty ominous, huh?

Well, another good friend had the same thing happen to her a couple of months ago and has been really helpful in coaching me what to do and not do. Meanwhile, I searched the internet for similar stories and was overwhelmed at the volumes of stories just like mine. Here’s one example:

https://perfectionhangover.com/facebook-disabled-deactivated-my-account/

While I’m grateful that this particular type of hacking apparently has not compromised any FB friends (there were over 700) and I’ve noticed no suspicious bank activity, it seems these folks have a common m.o. – they get access to a page, likely by claiming they lost the password, and hijacking either one’s email or phone number to receive the reset code from FB. Once in, they post either a video of child pornography or of a Taliban beheading/mutilation, which they know will trigger FB to shut the page down. How this helps them in their nefarious pursuits, I have no idea, maybe just pure malice.

At some point, or many points, FB said we’ll review for 30 days and if we find you’ve ‘violated community standards,’ your profile will be deleted with no recourse. So I waited 30 days, and nothing. Not ‘you’re banned forever’, not ‘welcome back!’ just nothing. So I’ve cautiously opened a new page, using different contact information than the old, and initially just posted my two profile photos (I put time/year stamps on them so friends would know it’s me, and it’s a new page) and my current city. That was all FB allowed me to do in the first 3 days (anything else and I was getting ‘we’ve temporarily prevented any new content while we review your page, etc) But magically, after 3 days it was still there, and I was able to post at will! I’ve since cobbled together a half-dozen old posts with photos, again just to assure friends that it’s really me, and will start making my ‘new’ presence known in earnest this weekend. Fingers crossed. 

A little background. Those who know me, know I never post about controversial topics (politics, COVID, et al), I never use 'Login with Facebook' with 3rd party sites, never play those facebook 'games', etc. I've gone over in my mind what would have made my page vulnerable, and the only thing I can think is that I had added my email in the public contact info there. Still a mystery.

And, a word about the journey, being someone who tries each day to grow a little more spiritually, the lessons learned about non-attachment, to hold on loosely, and to be aware of time spent mindlessly scrolling facebook, these lessons were not lost on me. In fact, a more visceral connection to people and the earth around me have been a couple of the perks of this unasked-for purgatory. And that’s a good thing.