Hackers hijack Plainfield business owner’s Facebook account

PLAINFIELD, Ill. (CBS) — A Plainfield girl counting on Facebook to run her business says her account has been hijacked by hackers.

She cannot get the account again, and now her prospects are being requested at hand over cash.

As CBS 2’s Charlie De Mar reported Tuesday night time, it began with a phishing rip-off.

“I’ve been crafting my complete life from so far as I can bear in mind, however my business since 2019,” stated Liv DeLeon.

DeLeon runs Crafty Girl Creations from her house in Plainfield.

“This is the busiest time of yr for me,” DeLeon stated.

But DeLeon cannot talk along with her prospects, as a result of her Facebook account has been taken over by hackers, She runs her business by way of the social media platform.

“If individuals do not understand that it is not me, it is ruining my status,” DeLeon stated.

DeLeon says she believes the hackers gained entry by way of a seemingly actual electronic mail that requested her to click on a hyperlink and confirm a few of her private info. 

“I feel it could have been the hyperlink. That’s the one factor I can correlate it to,” DeLeon stated. “It appeared legit. I did not query something.”

But DeLeon was quickly locked out of her private account – and with a giant vacation crafts present developing in downtown Plainfield, she says Facebook accounts began impersonating the organizers of the present and aggressively asking her shoppers for cash. At least one buyer paid the scammers.  

“I felt horrible, as a result of I’ve no means of letting anyone know on my Facebook web page that that is occurring,” DeLeon stated, “as a result of I’ve zero entry to my Facebook.”

Paul Bischoff is the editor Comparitech.com and a client privateness advocate.

“It appears like she handed over her Facebook password sooner or later, in order that’s probably by way of a phishing scheme the place she clicked on a hyperlink,” Bischoff stated.

Bischoff urges individuals to be skeptical earlier than clinking hyperlinks, and encourages multi-factor authentication.

“Usually in 90 % of circumstances, I’d say – or extra – it is not somebody breaking by way of Facebook’s defenses,” Bischoff stated, “it is somebody handing over their password inadvertently.”

And DeLeon’s makes an attempt to contact Facebook to resolve the issue have gone nowhere.

“I’ve mainly given up,” she stated.

DeLeon stated she feels helpless.

We additionally reached out to Facebook, however haven’t heard again.

Charlie De Mar

Charlie De Mar is an Emmy Award-winning reporter for CBS2.