Fianna Fáil Senator in Mayo and Leader of the Seanad, Lisa Chambers, has issued a warning to the public to take extra care on social media after her Facebook account was hacked.
Senator Chambers became aware of her account being hacked when she noticed that scam sponsored posts were being run on both Facebook and Instagram from her account, directing followers to fake advertisements on realistic-looking news websites, where they were prompted to share their payment information.
The hack is a type of cybercrime known as phishing, an attempt by fraudsters to lure people into providing sensitive data such as banking and credit card details and passwords.
Senator Chambers said: “The hack is an example of how sophisticated cybercrimes like phishing have become and has nothing to do with the actions of me or my team. It has been reported to both the Gardaí and Meta and is currently being resolved. I urge people to not click on any of the spam links advertised on Facebook or Instagram and to avoid entering any personal data on websites accessed through those links. I hope the hack can serve as a reminder to always exercise caution when asked to share any personal information online, even on a website that appears to be legitimate, as cybercrime continues to evolve.”
Any Facebook or Instagram user who gets a suspicious message should report it. Messages to be suspicious of include messages that demand money or personal information, offer gifts or threaten to ban or delete your account. Phishing scams can be reported to Facebook at phish@fb.com and to Instagram at phish@instagram.com.
ENDS
