As technology advances at lightening speed, cybercrime has become a dark reality in our digital world.
The impact has been profound – it always has and always will be.
That’s right, hackers are growing in a huge way, and they come in different forms: people who are clever and persistent, and robots programmed to get into websites, emails, social media accounts, even bank accounts, and the list could go on.
Hacking is on the rise!
As a business owner and a social media fanatic, I have always been sympathetic when learning about users and businesses getting hacked. I know one woman who woke up one morning to discover that nearly $200,000 had been removed from her bank account. I also know of a few small and medium sized businesses in Canada and the USA that experienced massive data breaches, costing them thousands-and-thousands-of-dollars in downtime and recovery.
Oh, no… now I got hacked!
Then I got hacked. Yes, it happened with no warning whatsoever. That’s usually how it goes, right.
On the morning of March 20, 2023, I woke up like I normally do around 5:00 AM to take on the day. The first thing I do is check my email. That morning I was stunned to see heaps of emails from Facebook, asking if I was trying to login from a different location. Of course, I went to secure my account, but it was taken over by a hacker who goes by the name Jerry Avenaim. Jerry (and no, he’s not the famous celebrity portrait photographer…. just a name), who might be a real person or a robot, changed my emails, mobile number, and password, hence locking me out of my account. My other social media accounts were also hacked; I recovered them within a day or two, but Facebook was the tricky one to get back. You see, when a hacker takes over your account on Facebook, your account then becomes disabled for a host of reasons. Even worse, Meta, the owners of Facebook, don’t have customer support, so there is no one to call or talk to.
I felt hopeless: all my content on Facebook and information was hijacked. So many years of memories: Poof – gone!
Hacked.com to the rescue!
However, I knew there had to be a solution. After all, millions of people and businesses are getting hacked by second, all around the world.
I went to Google to start learning of ways to get my Facebook account back up and running. After a long day of searching “how-to” articles and videos, I came across a Washington Post story that mentioned a company specializing in helping people and business owners like me. Hacked.com has been in business for a while and they are getting rave reviews.
So, I paid the $95 (USD) consultation fee with them and scheduled an online video appointment. They were a great help, and I got my Facebook account back after a number of online video calls with their team. The meetings and the yearly package for security maintenance with them ended up costing about $500 (USD), but it was totally worth it!
The team at Hacked.com showed me the ropes on how to get my account back through legal channels and through other “reset” mechanisms. I couldn’t have done it on my own. I even learned one very interesting thing in my hacking journey: the hackers typically want to hijack social media accounts in order to get banking info; however, if they don’t find any banking info, they move on.
In mid-April of 2023, the team at Hacked.com helped get me back into my account successfully and they even offered smart security tips and back-up options to save my Facebook content. All those road trips, family birthdays and holiday moments, dates, and graduations – I got it all back.
Data breaches and hacking by the numbers
The constant coverage in the media of hacks and data breaches proves that they are becoming a standard part of life in the 21st century. The unforeseen growth of the Internet has made the entire planet feel like a global cyber community. However, when the global scene transformed from the analogue to the digital landscape, new dangers emerged. As a result of the prevalence of social media, hackers were literally invited to pioneer the concept of digital identity theft. The prevalence of viruses, phishing, and ransomware increased.
Now only the most ignorant would risk leaving data unencrypted.
Identity Theft Resource Center reports that there were 1,291 publicly disclosed data breaches from the beginning of 2021 to the end of September, a rise of 17% from the total number of breaches recorded in 2020. IBM’s research on data breaches for 2022 indicates that each data breach cost businesses up to $3.80 million. While that’s roughly how much the United States spends annually on cybersecurity, the true cost is almost certainly substantially greater, given how many cyberattacks go undetected. By 2025, it is predicted that the annual cost of cybercrime will reach approximately $10.5 trillion.
Statistics show that social engineering and phishing assaults have affected about 62% of U.S. businesses, while 43 per cent of these attacks target small businesses. While over half of all cyberattacks are directed at small firms, only a small percentage of businesses are ready and able to defend themselves. In fact, six out of ten enterprises of this size have no cybersecurity measures in place. Despite being the primary target of data breaches, senior decision-makers at small firms in the United States are under the false impression that their companies are not vulnerable (66%).
Far too often, victims learn of their condition too late to do anything about it, which was the case for me. It’s possible to prevent a hack in progress by being extra careful and smart. The potential damage can be reduced, but one needs to take action promptly, and this is exactly why Hacked.com was established. They are now becoming a household name in our digital world. They can do anything from restoring compromised accounts to preventing blackmailers and impersonators, censoring offensive material, and conducting security audits. Their list of testimonials and clientele is impressive: The FBI, law enforcement agencies, business, and more!
You can also learn how to prevent hackers by accessing their site and following the guides they provide.
Hire the pros!
Having a service like Hacked.com will help keep you one step ahead of the hackers. Their team is kind, outgoing, smart and they have one goal in mind: to give you that true piece of mind and help you get your accounts back.
Trust me, if you have been hacked or are concerned of getting hacked, reach out to Hacked.com and discover how they can help keep you better secured in our digital world.
