Facebook Hack Costs Friends Thousands and Meta’s Inaction Raises Concerns.
In a disturbing incident that highlights the alarming consequences of Facebook security breaches, a New Brunswick woman’s Facebook account was hacked, resulting in her friends being swindled out of thousands of dollars. Despite the victim’s repeated reports to Meta, the company allegedly failed to take any action to stop the crime or prevent the scam from spreading rampant on its platform.
The Incident
The victim realized her Facebook account had been compromised when her friends started receiving messages from her account saying she was selling her dad’s property as he was going into full time care. The messages claimed that she was in an emergency situation and needed financial assistance.
The victim immediately contacted Facebook to report the breach, but she was allegedly met with a lack of urgency and support. Despite providing ample evidence, Meta allegedly did not take any immediate action to disable her account or prevent the scam from continuing.
The Scam
The scammers were able to use her hacked account to send messages to her friends, impersonating her and requesting money for various items of her dad’s. Some of the victims sent money via e-transfers, while others provided their credit card information.
Over a period of several days, the scammers raked in thousands of dollars from her unsuspecting friends. By the time she regained control of her account, the damage had been done.
Meta’s Inaction
CBC’s Go Public investigated the incident and found that Meta allegedly failed to take any meaningful action to stop the crime in progress. Despite the victims repeated reports, the company reportedly did not disable her account or issue any warnings to her friends about the scam.
Furthermore, Go Public discovered that similar scams were running rampant on Facebook, with multiple victims reporting being defrauded by hackers who compromised their accounts.
Victims’ Frustration
The victim and her friends are understandably frustrated by Meta’s inaction. They feel that the company has failed to protect its users from fraud and has allowed scammers to exploit the platform for their own gain.
‘I’m furious with Facebook,’ she told Go Public. ‘They have a responsibility to keep their users safe. They should have done more to stop this.’