Bay Area business owner says Meta of little help in resolving hacking issue
As is the case for all small business owners, Aaliyah Nitoto, the founder and winemaker of Free Range Flower Winery, is really busy this holiday season.
But Nitoto is behind, far behind, on sales and engagements, because of an issue she's been working day in and day out to try and solve from behind her keyboard.
"I've lost over a month of advertising," she said.
Nitoto's Facebook and Instagram business account, which she relies on for advertising and reaching new and existing customers, got hacked.
The hackers used her cards to take out thousands of dollars worth of ads, which appeared to be for janitorial and dental services in Vietnam.
"In the last month, I've had less people coming into the tasting room, and my sales have dropped off considerably," she said. "I feel angry, and I feel frustrated."
She worked with her bank to cancel her cards, but she got locked out of her ad account on Meta because of the outstanding balance run up by the hackers. She tried to get in touch with Meta Support for help, which she says was a confusing process that led her to more trouble.
She said she wasn't able to speak with a person and ended up chatting on Facebook Messenger with someone who she believed was support, but was likely a 3rd party, adding insult to injury.
"I feel like this was not a conversation with support, it was a conversation with a collection agency that didn't care about anything but getting their money," she said.
That conversation ultimately went nowhere. A few weeks later, Nitoto finally was able to speak with a human, confirmed to be with Meta Support. A week later, she received an email explaining the hackers were out, she doesn't owe any money, and the situation was resolved.
But Nitoto said the situation wasn't actually resolved because she still can't access her ad account.
"I still am not able to get in," she said.
And once again, she's feeling powerless.
"People are not really getting the help that they deserve to get," said Justin Kloczko, who follows Tech & Privacy for Consumer Watchdog.
He said Nitoto's experience is becoming increasingly common.
"State Attorney General offices around the country are having to basically, become Meta's customer service enforcers," he said. "This happens a lot, and it's really frustrating."
Earlier this year, 41 Attorney General's Offices signed onto a letter to Meta, telling the company it's imperative they find a solution to this problem.
"They're really the only ones doing anything right now," Kloczko said.
Nitoto is trying to find new ways to interface with potential customers without relying on social media for advertisements.
"I'm doing everything in my power to reach an audience, but it's much more difficult," she said.
Nonetheless, she's trying to stay positive that the problem won't persist through the rest of the holiday season.
"I don't know if this will be solved before Christmas," she said.
CBS News Bay Area reached out to Meta for comment on Nitoto's situation but did not hear back.
