I Was Locked Out of My Facebook Account

On the day after I had surgery I got an email from PayPal that my transaction with Facebook had gone through. I was on pain killers and supposed to be resting but I did not purchase any ads subscriptions with Facebook or Meta and I was angry. I had been having trouble with my Facebook for a while and had been locked out of my account, supposedly by Facebook. So I contacted PayPal and let them know that I did not authorize any purchases through Facebook or Meta and since I was locked out of my Facebook account and could not cancel any other purchases I was unable to do anything about any other subscriptions and I wanted them to help me. They would not refund my money but they did cancel the future subscriptions and give me an email address I could contact Facebook / Meta to try to recover my money.

I told my sister, Jamie Holloway, about it and she googled and found a number online that said you could contact it if you didn’t have a Facebook account, which essentially I don’t.

So I didn’t call right away. I waited until I cooled off a bit. I was pretty angry and I try not to call people when I am angry. Now I realize I should have waited a few days because I would have more able to make better choices. I was there enough to recognize things that didn’t make sense, just not enough to realize I should be on the phone with this person.

When I called 1-888-317-4150, which I don’t recommend you ever call, the man that answered the phone said, “Good afternoon,” but he didn’t say he was Facebook or Meta. As someone who used to work at an answering service, I know that mistakes can be made but normally you are reading from the screen how to answer the phone for your client and your client wants the name of their business used. I asked him about this and he agreed that he was Facebook, I figured he just made a mistake.

He asked me a few questions and told me that my Facebook account had been hacked by people in Indiana and Ohio. He also mentioned a specific man’s name, which I didn’t write down. I don’t know anyone in those states that would hurt me and I didn’t know that man.

He told me that he needed to be able to differentiate between me and the hackers so he could clean up my account. He said the hackers had attached my PayPal, Venmo, Cashapp, Walmart, Amazon and Target accounts to my Facebook account. I told him that I don’t have a Cashapp account and that I don’t shop at Target and I don’t have a Target app. He actually argued with me about that. I thought that was odd. I also told him I have never used my Venmo account with Facebook and and he said we had to check anyway.

He had me download the Any Desk Remote Desktop App on my phone. He also asked what kind of computer and phone I used. I also had to download Facebook again. He asked me why I deleted the app and I told him that after 20 years on the platform I was angry that someone could post something in my name and I could be locked out my account and there was no one to talk to about it. He also had me go into Settings on my phone, click on General and then look at Legal and Regulatory. He asked me if I had been to any of the countries listed there, but I am sure he was looking at the model number of my phone.

Next he had me go into every other account and try to send money or make purchases. I kept telling they wouldn’t go through. I am poor. I don’t keep money in my debit account. They didn’t go through. In Amazon, although I told him the gift card he wanted me to purchase would not go through because my wife’s debit card had been lost and I hadn’t updated her information he told me to do it anyway. We got the email. He told me to throw it away and dump the trash. When we got to Walmart, it was the last stop and he told me to use my credit card to buy an eGift card. I was under duress and I wasn’t sure the purchase would go through because I keep a small limit on my credit card on purpose. When it did go through, he told me to throw away the email telling me it went through and dump the trash.

Soon after I got off the phone with him, I began to realize what had just happened. I called Amazon and they were glad to cancel the eGift card. Although we had got the email, it had not gone through and they were waiting for an updated payment method and I didn’t have one to give them. Walmart, however would not cancel my purchase. I spoke with two people on their website chat and one person at customer service at 1-800-925-6278 that day. I tried to add the eGift card as a payment option in my Walmart account because my pharmacy is at Walmart and my wife had an upcoming vision appointment and I thought we could just use the $200 that way and pay the credit card with the money we would have spent on my prescriptions and her doctor appointment, but each time I tried to add the card I was told the card number and pin number didn’t match and customer service had no answer for me other than to call Walmart Card Services in a few days.

On Feb. 20 I did email the email address PayPal gave for Facebook / Meta but I haven’t heard back yet.

Since that time, I have changed all my passwords and some of my email addresses on all accounts and replaced my debit and credit card. Talk about a hassle. On Feb 21, I called Walmart Gift Card Services at 1-888-537-5503 and was finally told the reason my card can’t be used or added to my account was because it was used almost immediately. I was advised to call the police and let my bank know.

I was not able to call the police on the 21st because by the time I put all my thoughts together it was too late to talk to anyone about non-emergency issues. On the 22nd I chickened out and the Longview Police Department is not open Friday through Sunday. I called today to find out that I could have reported my issue online, which is what I did. I am now waiting to hear if they will accept my police report.

This whole situation has been very painful for me. I have given it a lot of thought and realized that since the middle of January, I have been under the impression of people that wanted to hurt me. I had several business accounts that we did little with and they were trying to reach us through those pages. I got messages threatening to take those pages down if I didn’t prove who I was, so I was giving them information that I might not have shared with them otherwise. That is how they gained access to my account and locked me out of my account. I don’t click on surveys, fill out questionnaires or ever click on those memes that say click on this to find out such and such about yourself because I know they could be a phishing plot, but I love to read and I remember they got me once because there was an interesting looking article that one of my friends didn’t post…they caught me because I love to read. The minute I was on a weird site, I knew I had made a mistake. I have been so careful and that one mistake cost me.

I don’t blame Facebook / Meta. It is my job to be careful online but I am hurting. I am responsible for my safety everywhere. I am a person with trauma experience and this feels so much like past experiences, except with people that don’t know me. I am working through my pain. I miss Facebook. I have been trying to engage on X and Instagram but they are not the same as Facebook. I am a reader and a writer and people don’t give their opinions on X and Instagram. Even when I didn’t agree with people’s opinions on Facebook, I either kept scrolling or it gave me something to think about. I miss the people on Facebook. I can’t seem to find some of my favorite people and even when I do, they don’t interact the same way on X and Instagram. I told that to Jamie and she asked me if I was ready to get a new Facebook. I told her I wasn’t ready yet. But I am working on it.

I have learned a lot though. I thought I knew these things, but I only knew them in my head. Now I know them in my heart. It is one thing to know about online safety measures. It is another thing to understand how vulnerable and victimized you can feel when someone takes advantage of you, just because they can. I told that man I was an honorable person and I know there are other people that are honorable online and I hope that somewhere that resounds with him. I hope he finds a new job.

Why am I sharing this with you? Because this can happen to anyone and if this helps anyone then my pain is not without merit. Be blessed.

~

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My name is Summer. That is how you can call me. I hope that I am a blessing to you. I am not perfect. I will fall again. But I am forgiven. For anyone reading this that isn’t a Christian, unapologetically, I am a Christian, but I believe there is room for lots of beliefs and religions in the world. It is not my intent to offend people with different beliefs than I have and I would be open to open-minded conversations with no goals of changing anyone’s mind, but sharing information. If you are interested in becoming a Christian…Do you know Jesus? Do want the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding and salvation? Ask Him. Want someone to pray with you? Contact me.

If you would like to know Jesus as your friend, but want to make this amazing commitment by yourself please pray something like this: Thank you Jesus that You are the Son of God, the God that created heaven and earth. Thank you Jesus that You came to earth in the form of a man so that You would be able to empathize with my humanity. Thank You that You did this in order to fulfill the promises You made at the foundation of the world. I realize that I am a sinner and do things that hurt myself and keep myself away from you. Thank You that You died for my sins so that You could defeat death and bring me into Your life. Please forgive me. I ask You to be Lord of my life. I ask you to heal my hurts and show me what my new life, empowered by You looks like. Thank You for Your mercy.