Scammers stealing from family, friends after hacking your Facebook account; How to protect yourself

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Brevard County woman told WFTV her Facebook page was hijacked, and whoever took over the account is using it to scam others.Cyndi Gilbert has been on Facebook for years. She likes capturing life’s precious and fun moments to share them with friends online. She believed Facebook was the perfect platform to do that.“They send invitations to parties; I can see pictures of my kids and my grandchildren,” Gilbert told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal.But earlier this year, somehow, her page got hacked. Someone took over the account and then locked her out. It’s been a frustrating situation.“They have access to all my family, all my family pictures,” Gilbert said. “I can’t get those back.”But what happened next was something she never expected. She learned whoever took over her account was advertising adorable yorkie puppies for sale. It turns out it was part of a popular online pet scam. Victims will send hundreds of dollars for puppies that never get delivered. It’s something the Better Business Bureau has been tracking since 2017. It found consumers have lost millions of dollars.Eva Velasquez, President of Identity Theft Resource Center, said her agency is still seeing it often.“We’ve seen
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