It was not a good story to tell on the very day my husband's Facebook account was compromised by an unknown online abuser. I have always been so relaxed when it comes to Facebook details, but after that day I was wise enough on how I give out my details or fill up my details online not just on Facebook but every other social media platform. Anyone can be a victim, so thorough care must be taken just to keep one's details intact.
Sora Shimazaki
It goes to this;
One fateful day, my husband received a call from an unknown phone number claiming to be his friend on Facebook. The caller may be his friend on Facebook, but then he called, behaving, or should I say claiming, to know a pastor's secretary. Indeed, my husband knew the pastor so well, but some years back. When he mentioned the pastor's name, my husband had to pause a bit and said “This name looked somehow familiar to me. He is someone I had taught his wife some years ago”.
The caller said, “The pastor asked me to call you to send you a token just to celebrate your birthday “. Hearing this, my husband's ears flap widely open just like someone who has not seen money before.
The caller added, “Just send your account details on Facebook to the pastor now. I will make the transfer to your account”.
My husband was just smiling like someone who had won a jackpot.
I asked my husband to be careful because people like that may be hackers. He said, “This pastor is someone I knew so well and would not scam me”.
I was not too sure of trusting this guy calling, but then my husband was behaving just as if he had been charmed. Charming to me would be an understatement, but casting of spell should be the best name to describe my husband's behavior at that moment.
I tried hard to warn my husband to steer clear of this guy calling, but he wouldn't listen and instead began to wait for this guy's call.
After six minutes, he called back again. My husband's face was full of smiles while he was speaking to this sad and unknown guy.
“Have you received the account number?” My husband asked without hesitation.
“Oh, yes, I have seen it, and I'm preparing to send you the money to your account”, the guy said and even mentioned #20,000. It was a huge amount of money, you know.
After that call, he called back again after a few minutes and said “You must make sure to send an appreciation message to the pastor”.
My husband without hesitation answered “yes”.
“There is a code we sent to your phone right now. Can you confirm it?” He said to my husband and out of trust my husband had to call all the complete numbers to this guy without wasting time.
Immediately he called out the numbers, his account was automatically signed out. With the look on his face, I knew that something had gone wrong. He tried to log in but was unable to. Not up to 3 minutes later, I received a Facebook notification, which happened to be from my husband uploading an update. I asked him if the account had been opened, but his answer was weaker than I thought it would be.
I clicked on the notification and discovered that his account is now used to send messages to people for Ponzi schemes. He immediately collected my phone from me and went straight to where the message was. He typed so that everyone would see it. Not only that, but he said, “This account was my husband's account and has just been hacked. So, this message is a scam and no one should fall victim to these people”.
After sending the message, my account was blocked from sending messages to my husband's Facebook account. I even tried to search for his name on Facebook but was now able to find it.
This was how my husband's Facebook account was hacked, and then he had grown his sub-account into monetary mode before the scammers took over. It was a painful one for my husband, but then he had no choice other than to accept his fate.
That same day, my husband began to receive calls about him sending messages to people on Facebook demanding help. He had to tell them that that account had been hacked.
Months later, someone made a WhatsApp call demanding to be a friend to my husband. He asked my husband to call out the WhatsApp code sent to his phone. My husband has been wise enough and does not want to fall for any scammers anymore. He called out the wrong number instead of the real number. After some time, he called back, asking him to call out the real number.
“Do you think I'm going to fall for your scope?” My husband said while the guy in question replied, “You are a fool. Leave my phone at once”.
This was how he escaped another scammer.
To be sincere, I derived some sense from the two scenes that happened. I must not trust anyone when it comes to the aspect of asking for anything related to my social media account.
I also learned that placing your details, most especially your phone number without hiding it on social media is harmful.
I'm wise now and can always skip scammers.