The first indication that something was brewing came from a close friend in San Francisco. She called asking if I had just sent her an email inviting her to some special dinner event.

“No,” I told her, puzzled.

“I knew it!” she said. “I told [name of husband] not to click on the link.”

We chatted about this strange situation.

“A couple days ago, I received a dinner invitation on Facebook from a writing friend,” I told her. “It seemed odd; I didn’t click on the link.”

After ending our call, I accessed the said email account. I was surprised to see the warning: Your account may be compromised. We recommend that you change your password. I did so, immediately.

How had someone gained access to my email account without my knowledge? I prayed that no one on my contact list had fallen for the scam. Surely, they must know that I wouldn’t ask them for money.

Over a week went by, following my friend’s phone call, before I realized that Facebook had stopped sending me Notifications/Messages from a few close friends. For several years now, I’m no longer an active Facebook user. What a scare that Friday, April 12th, to discover that I could no longer access my Facebook account! It had been hacked. Despite all my diligence, I had slipped up.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

With the help of my tech son, I followed Facebook’s instructions for restoring access: another email account, new password, and proof of identity. The following day, I received a email response stating that I should receive a position within 48 hours. Nothing happened. Still no access. Only the gods know what damage the hacker was doing to my reputation and credibility.

“What if the hacker is using my account to send out Friend Requests,” I asked my son.

“You worry too much, Mom,” he told me. “They’ve already moved on.”

I imagined the worse possible outcomes.

On May 7th, I contacted Facebook Support, using an email address I obtained through a Google Search. I’m still waiting for a response. According to DemandSage.com, Facebook currently has 3.07 billion monthly active users worldwide. In the USA, I’m just one of 246.73 million users. Do they care that my Facebook account has been hacked? Meanwhile, I removed the link to my Facebook Page from my Author Website.

With the above article digitalized for publication on my WordPress Blog, I decided on Friday, May 10th, to design a cover photo using my Facebook Page…if possible. When I clicked on the Google link to my Facebook Page, an unexpected page popped up, inviting me to reset my password. As occurred on previous unsuccessful attempts to log in to my account, the page displayed two email addresses partially blocked out using [xxx], one of which was unknown to me. Though wary that the hacker would be alerted to my password reset, I had to trust Facebook Security to protect my digital input.

It worked.

Facebook Security sent a password reset code to my email address for completion of the process. After regaining access to my Facebook account, I was instructed to secure my account using a two-step authentication process. I did so. I’m relieved but not happy. It cost me sensitive personal information to regain and secure my account.

Is Facebook secure against external threats as they would like us to believe? Have they grown too large? Will their sophisticated algorithms and AI save them from implosion? I’m beginning to have my doubts.