The confusion started with a Facebook post supposedly made by Jennifer Bruce.
“It is my account but it’s not me,” she told 7NEWS of learning her page had been hacked by someone trying to exploit her father and his cancer diagnosis.
“My parents are very old school and they’re very private, especially about medical stuff,” she said. “My dad, especially, was very upset because he didn’t want it broadcast.”
Whoever hacked her account claimed to be selling items to raise money to move him into assisted living.
“I do have a few people who did send deposits thinking that it was me,” she said. “He or she was giving out my address and selling things.”
The thought of someone posing as her and ripping off her friends left Jennifer feeling extremely upset.
“Dealing with personal stuff and then dealing with that, my anxiety was like I was freaking out and I couldn’t breathe,” she recalled.
But the hacker changed her password and removed her email and phone number from the account so no matter what she tried, she was locked out of her Facebook page.
Jennifer’s pleas for help went ignored by Facebook but after weeks of messages, we were able to convince Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to restore Jennifer’s account.
Cybersecurity experts recommend using two-factor authentication and regularly changing your passwords.
Meta warns against accepting friend requests from strangers and clicking on links, even those that appear to be sent by friends.
We asked Meta what Jennifer could have done to restore her account on her own and they didn’t respond.
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