Sask. woman gets thousands in credit card charges after hackers lock her out of Facebook page
An Outlook woman has been locked out of her online business’ Facebook page for months and she says she’s starting to lose hope.
Rochelle Annala first realized something was wrong on a Saturday in November when she logged into Facebook to make the first post of the weekend on her page, Bibs and Boots Fabric. The page didn’t look right. She couldn’t access the admin controls.
“I couldn't get in to post. It made it look; made my business page look like I was a visitor,” said Annala.
“And then I got, like, virtually within minutes, I got two notifications on my phone that someone had charged thousands of dollars on my Visa.”
Annala says it looks like they may have gotten access to her personal account, added themselves as an admin on her Facebook page and then kicked her off.
The charges to her Visa were for Facebook ads, and she says she’s got no information from Facebook as to what ads were purchased, nor can she see who’s now the admin of the page.
Annala emailed Facebook’s parent company Meta to tell them what was going on. Getting the money refunded was easy, but getting access to the stolen page has been a frustrating journey.
“I tried every email that I could find for them … same answer every time,” she said. “It’s been a long, arduous process, and stressful, right? Because I can’t see when customers message me. I can’t see when they comment or anything.”
Her Instagram is linked to her Facebook account, so she says her posts still end up on the Facebook page, but she’s worried about what else this hacker could do now.
Having a security breach like this can be really harmful for a company, says Saskatoon-based software developer Chad Jones.
“Because people can post as you, they can pretend to be you,” he said. “It can damage your reputation.”
It’s possible the hackers are using the account to try to exploit other Facebook users, Jones said.
“So once they hack your account, the standard practice is they will probably send messages to everyone you know, trying to get them to click on links in order to get access to computers, things like that, right?”
Judging by a message Annala received on Monday, the hacker may have access to some customer emails as well.
“This lady messaged and said, ‘I think someone’s hacked your account, because I’m getting emails from people about your business.’ Oh my god, I didn’t even think of that.”
CTV News reached out to Meta for comment on Monday. A media spokesperson took her information and said they would look into it.
If Meta does restore her access to the page, Jones suggests Annala should go over the security settings very carefully, and make sure two-factor authentication is set up on all her associated accounts.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.