NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Lisa Miles is the owner of Tattered Tulip, a home store that has served Western New York for 25 years. This past weekend was the company's 25th- anniversary sale. However, Miles said she wasn't able to get the word out to half of her customers because her Facebook page was hacked.
"It did affect us substantially," said Miles. "I depend on [Facebook] every single week to get customers in the door. It's how I communicate with customers."
7 Problem Solver Michael Schwartz went to Miles' newest location in North Tonawanda, where she showed him the email she got from Facebook two weeks ago.
It said her account was suspended because it didn't follow Facebook's standards.
Miles said she was shocked to first get that email, and after receiving it couldn't access her account. She said her Facebook name was changed to a different name, so it was no longer a page that identified as her.
Since she can't get into her personal page, she's been locked out of her company's page as well where she has thousands of followers.
"I can't do anything. I can't appeal it. It says I'm sorry, you're not that person," explained Miles.
Schwartz contacted a Facebook representative at Meta. He is still waiting to hear back. The social media platform has ways to avoid being hacked on its website. That includes:
- AVOID PASSWORDS WITH PERSONAL INFORMATION – YOUR NAME, NUMBER, BIRTH DATE OR ADDRESS
- CREATE A COMPLEX PASSWORD YOU’LL REMEMBER—AT LEAST SIX CHARACTERS LONG WITH NUMBERS, LETTERS AND PUNCTUATION MARKS
- AVOID COMMON WORDS IN YOUR PASSWORD
- MAKE IT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER PASSWORDS YOU USE
- NEVER SHARE YOUR PASSWORD
- CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD EVERY SIX MONTHS
If you have a consumer problem, email Michael at 7ProblemSolvers@WKBW.com
