What I Learned From Getting Hacked

Thursday morning, I woke up, grabbed my phone from the living room (because I don’t sleep with my devices by me), and started through my daily check-in of apps. I started with my email.

I was confused when I saw an email from Facebook, saying someone had logged into my account. An hour ago. When I was still sleeping.

Oh no. I hope they didn’t message any of my friends or hack any of them. I’ll go change my password. 

So, I made my way to Facebook to make the necessary changes, except I quickly discovered I couldn’t. As I went further down the trail of resetting and identity markers, I came to realize the culprit had changed the primary email address and set up 2-factor authorization, preventing me from accessing my account.

There was nothing I could do. Panic set it as I realized all of what this could mean for my poor profile. I quickly turned my frantic efforts to the Facebook identity help guide. After what seemed like too few clicks and an upload of my identification, they gave me the boilerplate response that they will be in touch within 48 hours. In the meantime, they have disabled that account (so if you’ve been looking for me, I’m not there).

It’s been longer than 48 hours. I am still waiting.

Worst Case Scenario

Throughout that first day, I started to think through all the things I would miss about my old page if I never got it back. The pit in my stomach grew as I thought about the potential losses:

🔴I was connected to over 1,500 people. The thought of starting over to rebuild this list of relationships is daunting.

🔴My brother passed away 11 years ago and my dad and mother-in-law last year, not to mention the others I have been close over the years. I won’t be able to get back those connections and this makes me sad.

🔴I’ve been on Facebook for about 12 years. That is a lot of memories, and while I double-captured many of these on Instagram for the last several years, many of those early memories likely got missed, not to mention all the memories before my Insta-days.

🔴I was the only admin on my author's Facebook page and a local moms’ group. Stupid move on my part and I’m hoping to get back that admin access without having to start over.

🔴There were several groups I was a part of that I liked, and now I must go through the process of answering all the questions again. (No, I will not harass or bully other group members, I promise.)

After I Got Over Myself…

…and realized the worst that could happen, I realized that I’m still alive and breathing, so all will be ok. I also reminded myself that God is still on the throne. I even think he’s been preparing my heart for some letting go of the Facebook giant for some time.

How easy it is for me to pick up my phone to scroll on Facebook. I found myself getting my affirmation of how many people like my stuff or finding answers from others instead of seeking God’s Word for wisdom. 

🟩My time is my own again. I guess I never really lost it, but it’s like a budget. Until you decide to move your allotment of resources to another category, you’ll always be wondering why you are in the same place tomorrow. I find myself hardly thinking about wanting to check my notifications on Facebook, or just going through the mindless scroll to see what I’ve missed because I know the massive feed isn’t there right now. This frees me up to do the work ahead of me.

🟩I can gain knowledge, inspiration, and affirmation from other places. I can read a book for 10 minutes each morning instead of a social media check-in. I learned recently that it takes about 71 hours to read the Bible in its entirety. (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald S. Whitney) What if I took some of that time that came so easy in my feed and moved it to feed my spirit? 

🟩If I do start over, I can be far more selective about allowing in real friends to my personal page. I feel more in control over the connections I allow in my life in other areas after this move, like my inbox or how I spend my time. This will now trickle into my social media time, especially Facebook. By being selective here, I can control my energy expenditure and spread it to other places.

🟩I can turn my attention to other platforms I’ve been wanting to explore and learn how to utilize well, like Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. I have been a bit of a one-trick pony (after all, Facebook owns Instagram too) and it’s time to grow my knowledge base.

For months, I’ve gotten caught up in all the business side of writing rather than focusing on the craft of writing myself. You see, last year I decided I wanted to pursue the life of a writer (whatever all that means…I’m still figuring it out), but God keeps reminding me to just focus on the craft of writing. Now that I’ve had the rug taken out from under my feet, I’ve been reminded of this once again. 

What Are The Practical Things I’ve Learned

You might need to cancel your credit card. I had a card linked to my account for Marketplace purchases and other services. I discovered a few days later some sketch charges on my card. Inevitibly, when I called my credit card company, they immediately canceled my card and have reissued me a new one. Another layer of hassle to work through.

It might not be practical for you to not have a card on file with Facebook, but just something you may want to be aware of.

Get another admin on your sites. If you are an admin on any Facebook groups or sites, make sure there is at least one other active admin as well. I had just started a Facebook group with about 70 moms in it, and while I was able to access the group (because I don’t know much about setting up groups with extra security measures, like making people answer questions before approving their membership) I have no other admin on the group now.

I am hoping that if I don’t get back my old account, that Facebook will allow me to become the admin of this group under my new account. But I’m not holding my breath………………

Set up 2-factor authorization. If you don’t have 2-factor authorization set up, stop reading this right now and go set it up. The predators are real. Do this today, right now. It’s one of those things that I thought Oh I’ll get that done… and I never did. I’m kicking myself for that now. 

You can set up 2-factor authorization on more than just Facebook by the way. For many sites you have accounts with that hold personal information, there is some form of 2-factor option available. There are a few options available, typically a phone number or an authenticator app, which is more secure. Even if you start with your phone number, get it set up.

I’m looking into authenticator apps. Bob uses 2FA Authenticator, which he loves. A company I recently have been contracted with are big fans of LastPass, which also allows you to share passwords and logins without actually giving the details to the receiver. This is the way I’m leaning, but whatever option works for you, go for it.

Facebook Doesn’t Care About Your Hack. Ok, I know that sounds cruel, but they just topped into the $1 trillion club. There is no way for me to talk to a live person, via phone or chat. When you think you are clicking somewhere in their help section that might actually help you, great disappointment awaits. 

And, why should they care? Wasn’t it my responsibility to keep my account safe from predators? Where are the governing police for me to report this crime? Rather, I am left to my own powers of investigation I’ve gathered from Criminal Minds quarantine binges and hope that one day, I’ll receive my account back. 

I’ve spoken to a handful of others who have had a similar experience but varying results. Some gained access to their old account. Some lost their account entirely, deleted by Facebook because it was too infiltrated. Some are still waiting to hear, so they decided to start over with fresh accounts. In all cases, it was at least a month before they heard back from Facebook, a solid reminder that Facebook really doesn’t care about your lost or disabled information.

So, What Will I Do Now? 

I have currently set up a new account. I’m hoping this will be temporary until I hear back from Facebook. I debated about setting up a new account or going without one, but, I am a part of some online communities through Facebook I find very valuable. 

Beyond the logistics, I will be leaning into the call of writing on my life. I will look to make progress as it pertains to the steps God places before me, rather than wishing my progress looked like someone else’s. I will lean into the other sources of online and in-person community I have been nurturing over the last 8 months. I will spend less time in a mindless scroll and more time exploring where God is taking me on this journey. 

Who knows what the future holds for my hacked account. Maybe I’ll get it back or maybe I won’t. Either way, I will hold onto these lessons I’ve learned, keep my social media input minimal, and finish updating my compromised passwords.

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