Nov 9th, 2022. I received an email from Meta stating my Facebook account was in violation of community policy standards and would be permanently disabled.
Well, that’s…. Confusing.
To say the least. I went on over to Facebook to check into matters further, only to be greeted by an intense page of MANY dings against my account and furthermore, restrictions. I couldn’t fully log into my account, couldn’t see or deny the accusations, and I couldn’t click any of the Facebook violation notifications to review their explanation. No options to contact anyone nor do anything.
Not gonna lie, I was beginning to panic at this point. What could I have done? There was that time I was put into Facebook-jail because I said, “I’m gonna have to give my hubby a good spankin'” (for dirtying the new stove), in what I thought was, a teasing manner. Or maybe one of my candid videos of my hippie kids with barely any clothes on. Uhhh…
Well, it wasn’t long before those first emails were followed up with copious more, saying “Your ads have been approved” along with thumbnail-previews, and bills for ads. All in Thai. That “I” had scheduled(?)
YEP. I WAS HACKED. BIG TIME.
It also wasn’t long before I realized my instagram was shut down too. Meta does own them both. But my emails were showing suspicious activity in my twitter, TikTok, iheartradio, and others.
Couldn’t get password reset codes to function either. Last I knew, the bills were up to over $500, but the account was hooked up to some outdated card resulting in denied payment. Praise the LORD. I even received one payout for the ads of $100, before I straight-up ditched all accounts out of pure and unadulterated paranoia – so now…
…I’m basically starting over. Yippie.
Let me tell you something – besides losing half my business, friends and following, losing 12 years of photos + video of my family and kids upset me worse. I’ve lost photos before, and I’ve lost business before, but honestly, my more-than-decade-old accounts (yes, I was there the day Facebook and instagram STARTED) had become a backup of many of my lost keepsakes and documentation of my life spanning 12 years.
What is the answer to all this? Nothing, really. Getting my accounts back would take investing in lawyers and grueling efforts starting court cases and speaking directly with state officials to see if *perhaps* something could be done.
So, my solution for myself is to quickly get back on board and catch up to where I was, no, and hopefully even more. Maybe not drag my feet so much, and get this master course of mine finally launched for you guys…
This experience has been so surreal. Not to mention, traumatic. Like a heavy dream with surprises at every corner that makes your belly churn. Something seemed against me. Even coming back, I’m getting constant DMS and comments asking if I am the real ME, and to prove myself. Can you imagine?
…I also want to share one more part of this wacko story… which made everything seem so utterly crazy. But who likes a blog post that goes on and on? I’ll share that next…
You are awesome. I wish the terrible actor(s) knew you, and what a kind soul you are. Then, maybe, then, they would understand the evil they have become. It is unfathomable to imagine what you’ve gone through. I wish you the best moving forward.
hugs! :))
You are awesome. I wish the terrible actor(s) knew you, and what a kind soul you are. Then, maybe, then, they would understand the evil they have become. It is unfathomable to imagine what you’ve gone through. I wish you the best moving forward.