Geoff Edwards considered himself a sophisticated internet user, but now he considers himself a cautionary tale.

Hackers, he91裸聊视频檚 recently discovered, are capable of fooling anyone. He learned that lesson the hard way when he lost his Facebook account, and now he91裸聊视频檚 warning others.

It can happen to you too.

91裸聊视频淣one of us realize what shaky ground we stand on with this platform,91裸聊视频� Edwards said. 91裸聊视频淪omebody can send you an email and you can make one wrong move and your whole Facebook world comes crashing down.91裸聊视频�

For Edwards, who91裸聊视频檚 been on Facebook since 2009, the nightmare started May 28, 2022.

He woke up to a notification email, telling him someone had accessed his Facebook account at 3:46 a.m. that morning, using a different device than his tablet. The email asked him to verify that it was him.

It looked totally legit, so Edwards clicked through all the procedures to prove his identity and secure his account.

91裸聊视频淭hey send a code to your phone, you enter that code at the website and you91裸聊视频檙e back on Facebook again,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚 carried on with my day and when I came back in later that day I had Facebook advising me that my videos were ready to view.

91裸聊视频淎nd I thought to myself, 91裸聊视频榃hat videos?91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

This email had links to 17 of them, all uploaded within two minutes of each other.

Edwards didn91裸聊视频檛 dare click on any of the links, but next thing he knew he was looking at another email, with Facebook saying his account was suspended, he91裸聊视频檇 breached community standards and he had 30 days to dispute it.

The problem at that point was, there was no way to dispute it. He couldn91裸聊视频檛 find any humans to talk to, only unhelpful links.

91裸聊视频淓ach link I tried sent me to that Facebook screen saying my account was suspended and I had 30 days to respond,91裸聊视频� Edwards said. 91裸聊视频淚 did find one link to people who are concerned about data breaches through Facebook. I wrote an email and actually got a human being who told me it wasn91裸聊视频檛 their department and they couldn91裸聊视频檛 help me.

91裸聊视频淪omewhere in there was a phone number in California to try, but no one answers. It91裸聊视频檚 just a voice recording.91裸聊视频�

As if that91裸聊视频檚 not bad enough, Edwards also got hit in the pocketbook.

He had a long-dormant PayPal account, still attached to Facebook and linked to his bank account. Whoever hacked his account bought Facebook advertising and he was tagged for $328.

91裸聊视频淭hey didn91裸聊视频檛 get my credit card information, because that expired, otherwise they could have drained that account too,91裸聊视频� Edwards said. 91裸聊视频淎s it is, I91裸聊视频檝e had to go through a bunch of business with my bank and register with Western Union and Equifax and that sort of thing, in case they try to do anything else.91裸聊视频�

Edwards is far from the only person to be fooled by phishing emails, although he still struggles to understand what exactly triggered the hack.

91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e looked at the emails over and over and I still can91裸聊视频檛 tell which one might be a phishing email,91裸聊视频� he said.

But a Google search using terms like Facebook hack or suspended will produce similar tales.

When he went to the RCMP to open a file after discovering the bank fraud, he said to an officer, 91裸聊视频淚 can91裸聊视频檛 believe they got me.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淎nd his response was, 91裸聊视频楧on91裸聊视频檛 kick yourself too hard about it. They91裸聊视频檙e professionals and they have a knack for making things look almost identical to a message from Facebook.91裸聊视频�

In most cases, there91裸聊视频檚 no happy ending to this scenario. Once a Facebook account is compromised, there91裸聊视频檚 no getting it back.

For Edwards, an actor and audio/video content producer (streamworks.ca and geoffedwards.media), the lost account means lost contacts. There are 600 or so people he91裸聊视频檚 connected with over the years. Those contacts are gone. He91裸聊视频檚 thankful to still have his Twitter handle (@geoffedwards) with 1,100-plus followers, but Facebook appears to be a total writeoff.

91裸聊视频淎t this point I91裸聊视频檇 have to create a whole new identify on Facebook, and I don91裸聊视频檛 know if I want to,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淏ut if I were back on Facebook today I91裸聊视频檇 tell people on there to nail down their account, be very cautious about what they click on and don91裸聊视频檛 depend on Facebook alone for your social media presence.

91裸聊视频淏eing on Facebook is a necessary evil these days because that91裸聊视频檚 where you connect with your customers and your community, and that91裸聊视频檚 where employers go to find out about you, but you need to be hyper-alert with any e-mails claiming to be from Facebook, or any social media platform for that matter.91裸聊视频�

eric.welsh@hopestandard.com
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