Putnam Lake Man Victimized By Facebook Hackers Gets the Last Word

Pete Gagliardo is a resident of Putnam Lake, NY and a family friend.

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Recently, Pete reached out to the I-95 Morning Show through our boss John D. to make us aware of a Facebook scam he fell victim to.

We invited Pete on the Monday (2/5/24) edition of the I95 Morning Show to explain the scam in detail.

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify

This is what happened to Pete:

He noticed a picture was changed on his Facebook page.
Pete contacted Facebook and said someone hacked my account.
Facebook contacted Pete to say it will take 180 days to rectify the issue
Pete got a phone call from a friend in Florida asking about Morgan Wallen tickets he was selling
Pete was made aware of a post about him selling his Dad's stuff because he was putting him in an old age home.
People started sending money to the hackers for what was "on-sale"
Pete contacted "7-On Your Side" to help with this issue
The ABC News program helped expedite the process and got Pete back on Facebook

Pete was never selling anything and his father passed away years ago. These hackers used all the angles to get money from Pete's friends and family.

BEWARE: These scams are everywhere and we're all vulnerable. I can't say for sure how hackers were able to gain access to Pete's account but our company has given us some helpful training on these scams. The most common way hackers get to your accounts is using what is called a "Phishing Scam."

Here is how to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) describes a Phishing Scam:

"Phishing is a type of online scam that targets consumers by sending them an e-mail that appears to be from a well-known source – an internet service provider, a bank, or a mortgage company, for example. It asks the consumer to provide personal identifying information. Then a scammer uses the information to open new accounts, or invade the consumer’s existing accounts. There are several tips that consumers can follow to avoid phishing scams, such as not responding to e-mails or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information."

Here is an example: say you have a best friend named Bart Golding, you may get an e-mail from someone with the name Bart or something that sounds like it is from Bart's employer and the second you open it, the hacker is in the driver's seat.

The lesson here is don't open anything you are not sure about even if it has familiar themes. The best thing to do if you see a Bart e-mail, is to call him and say "hey, numb nuts, did you send me an e-mail?" He'll say no and you move on with your life.

I want to give a big shout out to "7-On Your Side!" I love news features that step up for the little guy placed in an impossible situation.

This was a wonderful public service announcement from Pete, most people get embarrassed that they were the victim of hackers and never come forward. He has stepped up for the rest of the local community and in that way, he has the last word on the matter. That is a good Laker right there.

BONUS: Ethan Carey tells a story about how he almost got scammed and it was about to be embarrasing.

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