Compromised Computer And Social Media Accounts

 

Transcription

 

Hi, I am André Faust: On December 26th, my main computer was compromised by what I suspect was malware that decrypted my access codes to different social media accounts. I first became aware of a problem when Facebook suspended my account because they thought I was under 14 years old. Once I provided proof of my age, my account was reinstated. However, moments later, I received another email from Facebook telling me my account had been suspended for violating their community standards. I disagreed with the decision but was not given an opportunity to explain that my account had been hijacked.

I have been receiving notices that I only have 12 days to disagree before my account will be deleted, even though I had already filed a disagreement. The problem with Facebook is that they do not allow users to make a written submission to dispute their decisions regarding account termination. They act as judge, jury, and executioner, and users have no means of contesting or appealing their decisions.

I have created a new account, J André Faust. Additionally, after receiving notices from Google and Twitter of suspicious attempts to access my accounts, I checked my credit cards and discovered that around $10,000 had been charged to one of them. I immediately contacted my bank and was reimbursed the full amount for the unauthorized purchases.

To summarize:

Malware got into my computer, allowing the cracker to access Facebook and place content that violated facebooks community standards. The crackers did not only access Facebook but attempted to access my google and Twitter accounts. They successfully defrauded my credit card, for which the bank reimbursed me.

Hackers and Crackers are becoming very sophisticated and often work in teams, each member specializing in security aspects. Virus checkers are limited because they have to have identified the signature of malware before they can provide protection. In my case, I believe that it was a novel malware that had not yet been identified, and that is how it got past me.

While it is important to keep your virus/malware checker and browser security up to date, one may rarely experience an intrusion as I have. The point is that there are never any guarantees that your online activities are safe; even online shopping has the potential to reveal information that nefarious criminals can exploit. There are no absolutes in life, only probabilities that exist.

Thank you, and until next time take care and always hold that winning card.

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