Oh, this one stings. After nine months into a video project, during the last stage, BWCI entering management of a their Meta Business account. I found that my client’s greatest resource was overtaken by some incredibly patient thieves 4 month ago. The page was left as is, no alerting anyone, but the business account that owns the page was hacked. The term "hacked" feels fitting—it's like being cut into pieces. How does this happen?
In this case, the breach was a Meta Business account and the clients had no idea they no longer had ownership of the page until they tried to add BWCI as a manger. They are still reeling from the shock and the process through Meta to try and get it back. I’ll keep you updated.
Over the years, I've helped many businesses step into the world of social media advertising. To do this effectively, a personal profile must transition into a professional business account, which requires building and managing a business profile that is separate from your personal page. I’ve written extensively about the balance between paid and organic strategies in social media marketing, but entering the paid world comes with an added responsibility: account management. This is a contract with the platform—requiring you to follow the rules and take responsibility for what appears on your social feed.
Big Water has held a business profile on Meta (back before Meta was Meta) and also had a YouTube partnership through Google. When my business model shifted, my YouTube partnership ended, though reluctantly on my part. With one rule change I lost the privilege of monetization. Ouch! My social accounts have evolved over the years as the value of online properties has risen, bringing with it the need for more rigorous security to block out hackers. I’ve navigated these changes by diligently logging in and monitoring all my accounts. However, this recent witnessing of a hack sent me into a four-hour deep dive, reviewing every account I manage, both current and past, just to ensure Big Water wasn’t leaving my clients open to a hackers entry point.
In doing so, I found a significant number of past clients who still hadn’t fully reclaimed their accounts, leaving me with some level of access. I’ve attempted to bring them up-to-date and disconnect Big Water properly, but there was often resistance, and as a "nice person" who dislikes causing discomfort, I let it slide. But after this last breach, I’ve resolved to start the new year with a clean slate. These accounts left untended are low-hanging fruit for hackers.
A common misconception is that deleting your business’s Facebook or Instagram page is all it takes to secure your account. In reality, there’s a bit more to it:
Leaving your business account open is an invitation for hackers, who may exploit it without your knowledge. If a credit card is attached, they could end up running fake ads using your account. Hackers prize legitimate business accounts to fund their spammy schemes. In this recent hack, I suspect they valued the account primarily for sending out scammy messages to unsuspecting people.
This year, Big Water has had to bolster its security due to incidents ranging from finding my own "geo-parasite" (which I discussed in Integrity in Marketing) to being personally targeted on Facebook. Fortunately, these trolls were kept out, unable to inflict any real damage. However, it was a hassle—especially notifying friends that I’d been targeted, not hacked, and advising them to ignore a friend request from the odd handle "trina.gold.2877," without a profile picture. The hackers were after one thing: my credibility and good name.
Just as our financial profiles migrated online over the past 50 years, requiring constant security maintenance, our online presence now demands the same vigilance. Initially, the internet was built for banks to transfer money, setting the stage for security standards we now rely on for our credit and financial histories. Without these safeguards, life gets tough fast—ATMs and cash transactions can only take you so far, and booking flights or hotels without digital payment methods is nearly impossible.
Now, our personal online profiles hold immense value, and protecting them is essential. A little bit of security maintenance goes a long way in preserving your online reputation and safeguarding the personal data attached to your accounts. So, let’s keep it secure, stay aware, and avoid becoming low-hanging fruit for the next hacker in line.
If there is a topic you’d like to hear more about by all means comment below or direct message and I’ll do my best.
Nothing better than a good question to jump into.
Reach out for a talk over coffee or a hike I give information freely. I only ask to be paid when I do the work. tgold@bigwaterci.com
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Trina Gold
Master Creator
