Monday, April 30, 2012

Blogger Beware!



Someone asked me on Facebook to write a post about my experience with having my Yahoo and Facebook accounts hacked into a couple of weeks back.  They knew what "hacking" was, but didn't know exactly how one finds out that they HAVE been hacked, what to do about it and maybe how to prevent it in the first place.

Well, to make a long story short...my boss sent me an email letting me know my computer had been hacked into because someone, posing as me, was sending messages to my friends saying that I was stuck in the Philippines and needed money to get back home.  I got on my computer, only to discover that the hacker was online the same time I was and was IMing my friends as I tried to tell them I'm fine...don't send money!

I eventually found out that my hacker was working out of Nigeria and yahoo had sent me a message to my alternate email address to warn me but it was too late.




I tried to change my password to my yahoo account but alas, it wasn't soon enough because by then the hacker had set up some type of virus through my yahoo account to delete ALL of my yahoo contact info, ALL of my archive files which destroyed more than a year's worth of research concerning my writing, and set up my tkd2lady email address as a SPAM address so I started getting spam emails FROM MYSELF trying to get me to go into the pornography business.  Since I had to send THAT email to "spam",  ANY email I get addressed to tkd2lady hits the spam bucket and I have to constantly fish out the valid emails out of there and a lot of emails don't even GET to me now...;0(...




As this little sign reminds us...don't let scams con you into opening that door to allow heartless lowlifes access to your life.  It's scheming (I was SO afraid some of my friend, family, or business acquaintances would honestly think I was in trouble and lose money in the process), it's crafty ( I was AMAZED how the hacker copied my writing and online speaking style to try to con my friends), it's aggressive (I have spent weeks on trying to mop up after getting hit and I'm STILL cleaning up), and it's malicious (I am still feeling overwhelmed at all I STILL have to do to try and salvage things after being hit.)  I'm not an extremely computer savy person and simply can't figure out all the things I feel I should be doing to protect myself in the future.

Could I have done something to prevent it?  I don't think so except for maybe having to change my passwords on EVERYTHING each month but I simply don't have time to do that.  I am careful about who gets my personal information and I never open suspicious looking emails, and I always decline when people I don't know want to "be my friend" if my research of their request determines they aren't a legitimate person.  If anyone out there knows of other things I should have done or should be doing, I'd LOVE to hear it!

THAT being said, I'm still the type of person who tries to see the bright side of everything and even with being hacked and having soooo much taken from me, there are still some things to keep me smiling...

1.  It never prevented me from completing the A to Z Challenge.

2.  All my stories were stored in other areas so I never actually lost ANY of them.

3.  I still managed to write, revise, submit, and receive a wonderful rating on one of my picture book stories during this time.

4.  I only had one person "unfriend" me on Facebook and I can fully understand and respect their decision.  It was a newer friendship and either they didn't know ME well enough to know I would NEVER ask for money from someone like that or they feared the hacker/virus spreading to their corner of the world and decided to set aside the friendship instead of running the risk.  I get that...I can't say I might not have thought the same thing if it were me...

5.  I still have all my FABULOUS friends, both in the blogosphere and within the writing community and who could ask for anything more?







28 comments:

  1. This is an excellent post, Donna. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I so wish you hadn't had to go through it, though.

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    1. Oh well, Beth, I see it as one of life's little lessons and all that. I'm a firm believer that I will never have more on my plate than I can handle but there are times when I wonder WHY it's so full! Lol...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  2. I did receive an e-mail from you requesting emergency money, and I assumed it was some sort of scam and didn't send any. It's a strange world we live in.

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    1. Yes, Stephen, I agree...and getting stranger by the minute so how can we hope to keep up with it all? By staying as informed as possible I say...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  3. Thank you for sharing this, Donna! You've been pushing forward in spite of it all and keeping it together. So glad you were smart enough to have your work stored in other places. A good lesson for us all.

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    1. Hi Pam! I also had just purchased my domain name (Donna L Martin) and was working on getting my website up and running...I've had to put THAT on hold because I'm not a computer geek and it takes me a long time to figure that kind of stuff out and now I'm concentrating on still trying to clean up the hacker mess...oh well, I'll get to it eventually...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  4. Glad you didn't lose too much. I use a password program and have these crazy long passwords that no one could guess. The only problem is I can't check my email from a remote computer.

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    1. Hi Asrai! How smart of you...and I didn't even know there was such a thing as a password program out there...lol...I don't think that would work for me though because a lot of my work during the day is done through my phone/work computer and I need to be able to get on/off quickly and not fight a gatekeeping password program...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  5. Someone hacked into my bank account but when they saw what little I had they actually deposited some money.

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    1. Oh, I LOVE that JP...you gave me my chuckle for today...thank you! ;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  6. I felt so horrible for you! And after you contacted me, the hacker kept messaging me and saying 'sorry,' still trying to impersonate you. Weirdo. You handled it perfectly. I'm glad it all worked out...eventually. lol A few years back, I had part of my identity stolen, after a retail store's computer system was hacked into. They stole my credit card number and then my license. Ugh... I was really lucky they didn't get my SS#. Took a while to clear it all up.

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    1. Awwww, Sheri, how kind of you to beconcerned but never fear...I'm okay and a little bit wiser to things now. My best friend says I'm too naive and trusting sometimes...this could be true...but I'd rather believe there is GOOD in the people I meet and occasionally be disappointed, than to feel NOTHING or even worse, EXPECT evil from others...that's just not how I roll...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  7. Years ago I was robbed and my wallet was stolen. That was the day I needed my SS card and it was in my wallet. When I tried to get another #, I was told I could only do that if I surrendered my old card. When I told them it was stolen, I was told I couldn't change the #. Then I was told I could get a copy of the old one,if I showed my driver's license. Where do YOU usually keep YOUR license? I was told that without the license, no copy of SS card. Then I went to get another copy of my license. They wanted ID. Fortunately,they looked it up and gave me a non-photo temporary license. SS office wouldn't accept that as ID. I had to wait until I got the actual license. I'm just glad that the thieves were not concerned with anything but cash. They must have been disappointed when they discovered only 5.00 and a postage stamp in my wallet. By the way, stealing the stamp made it a FEDERAL offense. I know this has nothing to do with your being hacked.I was worried for you when I found out about it.I got an emergency email from "you" and I sent it to spam file.I hope you get it all straightened out soon and never have it happen again.

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    1. How sad, Janet, that you got caught up in the silly red tape which holds our government together it seems. Glad you got everything straightened out and eventually I will be able to say the same!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  8. I love your quote, "too blessed to be stressed"...I need to remember that one! So glad that the most important items were kept safe...a true blessing from God. Keep up the good work, Donna!

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    1. Thank you, Jarm...I try...and it always helps to have wonderful friends like YOU as a reminder of all the kind people still out in this world...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  9. So sorry you got hacked that way. Invariably, at least once a month I have a friend get hacked on Yahoo (most often) or Facebook (second). Like you, I'm fairly computer savvy but I still worry. I use multiple layers of protection and am slowly changing to different passwords on various sites. But when you have so many...it's tough. Then I get on my phone when I'm out and about and I can't log in because I can't remember the new password. LOL! Glad you recovered and super glad you managed to complete the A-Z challenge.

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    1. Yes, Donna, it's getting much more complicated for me to handle my accounts as I grow as a writer and expand into new arenas. I've started to write the signons and passwords down...even though you're told NOT to do that either, but honestly, I can't remember them all so I will just have to take my chances...lol...

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  10. Wow, that is insane! Way to keep an amazing attitude. And congrats on finishing the A-Z Challenge :)

    Sarah Allen
    (my creative writing blog)

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    1. Yeah, welcome to my world, Sarah...lol...at least it keeps me on my toes! ;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  11. Thank you for this post Donna! Good luck with final clean up! It seems Yahoo email is a softer target somehow.

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    1. Hi Melissa! I'm glad you liked today's post...I didn't want to bore anyone and I hope THIS kind of thing doesn't happen to anyone else!

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  12. Hi Donna. I'm so sorry your account was hacked. Why do people have to do stuff like that? I'm so glad that you are able to keep a positive attitude through it all.

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    1. Thanks, Susanne...it's just the kind of person I am...yeah, life tends to throw things at me sometimes but I tend to roll with the punches...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  13. It's so hard to keep up with all the ways we can be attacked. My Yahoo was hacked about a year ago - I just deleted it because it was an address I gave out when I signed up for random online competition stuff and other suspect sites that I don't want to have my real email. So, mostly, the hackers were spamming spammers!

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    1. Hi Annalisa and welcome to my blog! The more accounts I set up to help my "author platform", the more chances I have to be "hacked"...I guess it comes with the territory...;0)

      Thanks for stopping by and come back any time!

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  14. Hi Donna .. I've heard of this before .. thanks for highlighting it. Just glad you seem to have come out in one piece on the other side ... Good luck but in the meantime congratulations on finishing the A - Z ... cheers Hilary

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