{"id":6370,"date":"2023-12-08T08:26:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T08:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.limbtec.com\/newsite\/?p=6370"},"modified":"2023-11-30T09:46:47","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T09:46:47","slug":"when-your-facebook-or-other-online-account-gets-hacked-whos-responsible-for-the-losses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.limbtec.com\/newsite\/when-your-facebook-or-other-online-account-gets-hacked-whos-responsible-for-the-losses\/","title":{"rendered":"When Your Facebook Or Other Online Account Gets Hacked, Who\u2019s Responsible For The Losses?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Recently, the CEO of a very successful marketing firm had their Facebook account hacked. In just a weekend, the hackers were able to run over $250,000 worth of ads for their online gambling site via their account and removed the rightful owner as the admin, causing the firm\u2019s entire Facebook account to be shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are they uninsured for this type of fraud, but they were shocked to discover that Facebook, as well as their bank and credit card company, was NOT responsible for replacing the funds. Facebook\u2019s \u201cresolution\u201d was that there was no fraud committed on their account because the hacker used their legitimate login credentials, and Facebook is not responsible for ensuring you keep your own personal credentials safe and confidential. Further, they didn\u2019t have the specific type of cybercrime or fraud insurance needed to cover the losses, so they\u2019re eating 100% of the costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are they out $250K, but they also have to start over building their audiences on Facebook again, which took years<\/em> to build. This entire fiasco is going to easily cost them half a million dollars when it\u2019s all totaled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In another incident, another firm logged into their account to find all of their ads were paused. Initially, they thought it was a glitch on Facebook, until they realized someone had hacked into their account, paused all of their legitimate ads and set up 20 NEW ads to their weight-loss spam site with a budget of $143,000 per day, or $2.8 million total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to their spending limits, the hackers wouldn\u2019t have charged $2.8 million; however, due to the high budgets set, Facebook\u2019s algorithms started running the ads fast and furious. As they were pausing campaigns, the hackers were enabling them again in real time. After a frantic \u201cWhac-A-Mole\u201d game, they discovered the account that was compromised and removed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The compromised account was a legitimate user of the account who had THEIR account hacked. Because of this, Facebook wouldn\u2019t replace the lost funds, and their account got shut down, with all campaigns deleted. Fortunately, these guys caught the hack early and acted fast, limiting their damages to roughly $4,000, but their account was unable to run ads for 2 weeks, causing them to lose revenue. They estimate their total damages to be somewhere in the $40,000 to $50,000 range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When many people hear these true stories (with the name of the companies withheld to protect their privacy), they adamantly believe someone besides them should step up and take responsibility, covering the losses. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t OUR fault!\u201d they say. However, the simple reality is this: if you allow your Facebook account \u2013 or any other online account \u2013 to be hacked due to weak or reused passwords, no multifactor authentication (MFA) turned on, improper e-mail security or malware infecting your devices due to inadequate cyber security, it is 100% YOUR FAULT when a hacker compromises your account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facebook is just one of the cloud applications many businesses use that can be hacked, but any business running any type of cloud application, including those that adamantly verify they are secure, CAN BE HACKED with the right credentials. Facebook\u2019s security did not cause their account to be compromised \u2013 it was the failure of one employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The BEST way to handle this is to NOT get hacked in the first place. Here\u2019s what you need to do to protect yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n