The owner of an award-winning takeaway has spoken out to warn other businesses after they suffered a major hack which has resulted in a loss of tens of thousands of pounds for the business.
John Ferguson, owner of Belfast Burger on Crumlin Road, told Belfast Live that he considered himself to be “tech savvy” but still fell victim to the hackers.
Mr Ferguson claims that as a result of the hack on their Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts, which took place on 24 February, they have seen business fall by 81 per cent and takings down almost £20,000.
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Explaining how the events unfolded, John said: “While scheduling our posts for the day, I was told that our account was being suspended because we had violated the rules, but we had 180 days to appeal. Straight away, I clicked on the start appeal button, minutes later a selfie was requested, and then a few minutes later a photo ID was needed to verify the selfie. Within minutes the phone went to a black screen, and we were unable to access any of our Meta accounts.
“I have tried contacting Meta, but there is no direct way for businesses to get in touch with a human who can help. I have even tried to get in touch with the head of Meta in Europe, who is based in Dublin, but so far, we have been left in limbo.
“Most of our marketing is done through our Meta social media platforms, and since the hack, we have seen a fall in takings of around £20,000 and a drop in business of 81 per cent.”
However, John said that it wasn’t just their Meta accounts impacted by the hack.
“Since the initial hack, we have seen fraudulent applications for loans in our company name and payments made with our debit card. They have also tried to take over our website and our Google Business listing.
“On top of that, they have tried to take over our Indeed.com profile and hacked into the emails on my phone.”
A Meta spokesperson said: “We’re investigating the issue brought to our attention. We take the safety and security of our community seriously, and we encourage everyone to create a strong password, enable two factor authentication and to be suspicious of emails or messages asking for personal details.
“Anyone who is concerned they may have been hacked can visit our help centre to secure their account. More information about how to keep your account safe here.”
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