“My Facebook Account Got Hacked and Taken Over: A Frustrating Experience”

I’ve been on Facebook for a long time. Despite all the criticism of Facebook and later Meta. I enjoyed using this platform, I built and maintained a widespread network there. It must have been a good 14 years – maybe even more. That’s over now: my account was hacked and taken over. And I was able to experience how inept and indifferent Facebook is in the face of it.

I checked my email inbox. Some IP from Vietnam – of course: VPN – had tried to hack my Facebook account several times. I was halfway relaxed. Anyone who has been on Facebook for a long time has experienced something like this before. So: off to change the profile and password. My previous password wasn’t bad, otherwise the hackers would have succeeded. My new password was long again, and had nothing to do with the previous one. I thought that would have sucked the drops.

On the same day, emails about access attempts came again. I went back in and changed my password. The attacks didn’t stop. I tried to log in since I had 2-step authentication on. However: the code I was asked to enter was one that had been generated a long time ago and that I hadn’t written down. I couldn’t generate a new one with the code generator app because Facebook wrote in the same interface that they had issued this form of 2-step authentication and I should change it in the profile. Yes, very clever. How was I supposed to do that when I couldn’t even get in?

I received two emails informing me that someone had uploaded ID documents. I changed my password again. It would all end well.

Then the surprise: suddenly not only could I no longer access my account, my profile was also no longer visible. The latter remained so for a few days.

(On that day, I changed all my passwords that I use on websites and apps. All of them, really. It took an entire morning.)

As an alternative method I was offered that I could identify myself by uploading my ID card. That felt strange. But I thought of everything that can be found in my messenger: I’m a journalist, but in my day job I’m mainly a psychologist; and many people from my network had confided in me about private and psychological problems over the years. So I took this opportunity and uploaded my personal information. It should take 24 hours until I get feedback.

A day later nothing had happened. I uploaded my personal again.

Another day later same thing. And again I uploaded the perso.

The next day I got an email from Facebook. My person has been authenticated. I got a code and a link and that was it. Should. Because when I went to the site and entered the code, I was told that the code was not valid. My train of thought: probably because I had uploaded the perso so many times. Well, at least my profile was blocked and nowhere to be found. I was really annoyed, but I thought to myself: just wait a day or two and you’ll get the next email with a code, and that’s it.

I slept the following night. I often do this at night. sleep is important. I missed three emails that reached me between 3:00 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. The first email said that someone, this time with an address from Germany, had tried to hack my contacts. The second email told me that someone had deleted my email address and replaced it with a different one. The third email finally informed me that my cell phone number had also been deleted from the profile. The three ghosts of my personal Facebook Christmas. I should say if that was me. I bravely clicked “No” three times, but that didn’t do anything.

But my account was visible again on Facebook. Olé. Facebook had completely surrendered my account to the hacker. Now I have admin rights for some company pages. I was able to get kicked out of two, but it didn’t work on the third, my company page. Until now.

I went to the Facebook designated page to report that my account has been hacked and taken over. I should enter my email address there. I did. And for the next day and a half I was told that I had used this function too quickly and was therefore excluded from it. I was able to appeal, came back to exactly the same page, and as you can guess, I couldn’t appeal because I’d used the feature too quickly and was therefore excluded from it.

The next few days, this function worked. I should now log in with my email address and an old password. I tried that. However, I was told that the password was incorrect and that a link to unlock it could be emailed to me. To the hacker’s email address. Yes, thanks. Very clever.

Since then I’ve been getting emails from Facebook, about 10 a day, with the subject “Encrypted Notification from Facebook” (screenshot follows). Inside is an encrypted file that I can now unlock with my public key. Alone: ​​I don’t have a public key. none. I have no idea what these emails are about.

By the way, before anyone asks: I always checked all, really all, emails to see whether they really came from a Facebook email. phishing and such. They were all from Facebook.

The penultimate act then this morning. Again I tried to unlock my account via the hacked page. In the run-up I had asked many friends and acquaintances to report my account as hacked, which some did. Thanks for that! I was hoping that would do something. So I gave my email address again – but now it is no longer known, as is my cell phone number.

The last thing I did was look up a Facebook support email address. Yes I know. Mail to Facebook and such. But I’m really desperate now. I emailed my problem and got a link to the hacked page. I reply that it doesn’t work and got a link to the hacked page again. Automated replies are awesome. Not.

I guess I lost my account for good. I can’t see what else I can do. go to court? Yes, it’s recommended on the net, and maybe I’ll do it too. But right now I’m just frustrated.

Interestingly, my account doesn’t post anything, and I don’t think anything is sent via Messenger either. I have no idea what the hacker wants or is doing with my account.

I continue to receive encrypted emails from Facebook.

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