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

Hackers, he香蕉视频直播檚 recently discovered, are capable of fooling anyone. He learned that lesson the hard way when he lost his Facebook account, and now he香蕉视频直播檚 warning others.

It can happen to you too.

香蕉视频直播淣one of us realize what shaky ground we stand on with this platform,香蕉视频直播� Edwards said. 香蕉视频直播淪omebody can send you an email and you can make one wrong move and your whole Facebook world comes crashing down.香蕉视频直播�

For Edwards, who香蕉视频直播檚 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.

香蕉视频直播淭hey send a code to your phone, you enter that code at the website and you香蕉视频直播檙e back on Facebook again,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淚 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.

香蕉视频直播淎nd I thought to myself, 香蕉视频直播榃hat videos?香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈��

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

Edwards didn香蕉视频直播檛 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, he香蕉视频直播檇 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 couldn香蕉视频直播檛 find any humans to talk to, only unhelpful links.

香蕉视频直播淓ach link I tried sent me to that Facebook screen saying my account was suspended and I had 30 days to respond,香蕉视频直播� Edwards said. 香蕉视频直播淚 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 wasn香蕉视频直播檛 their department and they couldn香蕉视频直播檛 help me.

香蕉视频直播淪omewhere in there was a phone number in California to try, but no one answers. It香蕉视频直播檚 just a voice recording.香蕉视频直播�

As if that香蕉视频直播檚 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.

香蕉视频直播淭hey didn香蕉视频直播檛 get my credit card information, because that expired, otherwise they could have drained that account too,香蕉视频直播� Edwards said. 香蕉视频直播淎s it is, I香蕉视频直播檝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.香蕉视频直播�

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

香蕉视频直播淚香蕉视频直播檝e looked at the emails over and over and I still can香蕉视频直播檛 tell which one might be a phishing email,香蕉视频直播� 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, 香蕉视频直播淚 can香蕉视频直播檛 believe they got me.香蕉视频直播�

香蕉视频直播淎nd his response was, 香蕉视频直播楧on香蕉视频直播檛 kick yourself too hard about it. They香蕉视频直播檙e professionals and they have a knack for making things look almost identical to a message from Facebook.香蕉视频直播�

In most cases, there香蕉视频直播檚 no happy ending to this scenario. Once a Facebook account is compromised, there香蕉视频直播檚 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 he香蕉视频直播檚 connected with over the years. Those contacts are gone. He香蕉视频直播檚 thankful to still have his Twitter handle (@geoffedwards) with 1,100-plus followers, but Facebook appears to be a total writeoff.

香蕉视频直播淎t this point I香蕉视频直播檇 have to create a whole new identify on Facebook, and I don香蕉视频直播檛 know if I want to,香蕉视频直播� he said. 香蕉视频直播淏ut if I were back on Facebook today I香蕉视频直播檇 tell people on there to nail down their account, be very cautious about what they click on and don香蕉视频直播檛 depend on Facebook alone for your social media presence.

香蕉视频直播淏eing on Facebook is a necessary evil these days because that香蕉视频直播檚 where you connect with your customers and your community, and that香蕉视频直播檚 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.香蕉视频直播�

eric.welsh@hopestandard.com
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