Pullman Porter Museum Director Says His Facebook Page Was Hacked And Used To Scam People
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Getting hacked on Facebook is nothing new, but on Tuesday night, the director of a historic Chicago museum said that hackers have been using his account to scam people online.
As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported, the director has been dealing with the scam for weeks now. On Tuesday night, he was worried about the museum's part in it - and what he called zero action on Facebook's part.
"All of this is happening at the wrong time," said David Peterson.
Peterson is the director of the National A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, 10406 S. Maryland Ave. He has opened up a second Facebook page to warn his friends about the people who hacked his real account.
"They blocked me from my own page," Peterson said.
The people who took over his page are now working to scam his Facebook friends out of money through posts that claim he is part of a giveaway.
"People are thinking they're interfacing with the executive director of the museum and this person is scamming them, because they don't know that my page is hacked," Peterson said.
He said Facebook has done nothing to address the hack and following scam, despite several reports and back and forth.
"It's been almost two weeks now, and so haven't heard anything," Peterson said.
And there is a sliver of irony in his frustration.
"I'm a Facebook shareholder," Peterson said.
We reached out to Facebook on Peterson's behalf - not only about his issue, but about hacks and scams people are dealing with during the pandemic.
A Facebook representative said they were investigating the issue.
Meanwhile late Tuesday, Peterson remained locked out of his account while Facebook investigated.
Facebook also shared the following security tips to prevent something like this from happening to you:
- Since your Page is connected to your personal Facebook account, it's important to keep both secure. Pages can only be accessed through a personal account that belongs to an admin. If you suspect that your Page was taken over by a bad actor, it may mean that your personal account or the account of someone who works on your Page was hacked.
- If you suspect your personal account or Facebook Page has been hacked, we recommend you visit facebook.com/hacked and you'll receive step-by-step help on how to fix it. For more information on what to do if you suspect your Page has been hacked, please see the following article in our Help Center:https://www.facebook.com/help/738660629556925
- We will never ask you for your password in an email.If you ever get an email claiming to be from Facebook, you can confirm if we've sent it by checking if it came from facebookmail.com and by reviewing recent emails we've sent you from a list in your Security and Login Settings. https://www.facebook.com/help/1956527391029758?helpref=faq_content
- We offer a number of security features and recommendations to help you recognize suspicious requests and activity, and keep your account and your Facebook Page safe. Some of these security best practices we recommend include:
- Secure your account with two-factor authentication: Enable two-factor authentication as an extra layer of protection, both for yourself and as a requirement for other admins of your Page.
- Review Page roles and permissions: Familiarize yourself with the different Page roles that exist and the permissions they have.
- Don't accept friend requests from people you don't know: Scammers may create fake accounts in an attempt to friend and manipulate people.
- Watch out for suspicious links and malicious software: Keep an eye out for links you don't recognize, especially if they're coming from people you don't know or trust. Be careful not to click on suspicious links, open suspicious files or install malicious apps or browser extensions—even if they appear to come from a friend or a company you know. If you see a post or message that tries to trick you into sharing personal information, please report it.
- Set up trusted contacts: To help you regain access to your account, and then your Page, in case you are ever locked out, you can enable your friends to be your trusted contacts. They'll be able to send you a recovery code with a URL to help you get back into your account.
- Proactive safety notices: In May, we announced we're introducing safety notices in Facebook Messenger that will pop up in a chat and provide tips to help people spot suspicious activity and take action to block or ignore someone when something doesn't seem right. Our new safety notices also help educate people on ways to spot scams or imposters and help them take action to prevent a costly interaction.
- Resources:
