
Small business owner from Chilliwack says she’s lost everything after being hacked
CHILLIWACK — Chilliwack resident Nicole Weber had a thriving social media marketing business and vibrant online presence under the business name of “Get Social with Nicole” on various social media platforms.
Weber, who moved to Chilliwack in the last year, operated her media marketing business through Instagram and built a following of 7,000 organic followers through six years of hard work and creativity, and offering client-focused solutions. Life was going well enough for her in her new community that she initiated an online auction for farmers who had suffered losses in the Fraser Valley floods of November 2021. She raised $1,500 each on two occasions to assist local farmers in purchasing hay to feed their livestock.
But her financial livelihood and years of hard work encountered some unexpected troubles starting Thursday, March 9 when she received an email from Instagram for individuals with verified blue check marks asking her to log in to verify her account. After logging in, the emails began pouring in suspiciously within minutes.
“I have the email from Instagram,” said Weber. “It looked so legitimate. From there, it took me over to a page where I put in my username and email. I did that, and all of a sudden I got spammed within a couple minutes. I got hundreds of emails from subscriptions in my inbox. I instantly changed passwords on Instagram and Gmail.”