ORLANDO, Fla. – The mother of an Orlando investment executive said she provided a code to someone she thought was messaging her on Facebook — and within hours she realized she “had been hacked.”
Kim Robinson Lynch told News 6 she should have realized she was being set up.
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The imposter said she needed to send her a code that would unlock her account. That code actually allowed the thief to gain control of Lynch’s account and block access.
“Next thing I knew, all my friends were saying, ‘I want a puppy, how much you selling them for?’” Lynch recalled. ”I’m like, ‘I’m not selling any puppies. What are you talking about?’”
According to the Federal Trade Commission, social media victims lost $1.2 billion dollars to hackers and imposters in 2022. The trends for 2023 are pointing to similar losses.
In this case, Lynch said nine of her closest Facebook friends were each approached for $2,000 by someone posing as her on her Facebook account.
Her son, CFO Chance Robinson of Orlando-based Strong Point Financial, told News 6 he received a request from his mother’s imposter asking for $1,000.
Robinson said his mother lost more than $800 because the imposters were able to purchase items on Amazon, and Apple using her bank accounts to cover the purchases.
“The biggest thing is to stay aware,” Robinson said. “Because it’s going to happen.”
In 2022, Meta reported that an estimated one million users may have had their accounts compromised by hackers using malicious apps that were available on the App Store and the Google Play Store.
Lynch said she was able to recover most of the stolen funds, but Amazon was unable to help her because the purchases were made from her personal accounts.
Facebook has shut down her account.
Experts suggest anyone that has been hacked should start by changing their password and tightening their security settings. It’s also a good idea to inform your friends and followers that your account was compromised and report the incident to Facebook.