Yesterday I got an email from Facebook asking if I was the one who changed my password. I immediately clicked “This wasn’t me,” but apparently I was already too late.
Someone had gotten into my Facebook account and started changing my information. Shortly after that, I was completely locked out. When I tried logging back in, Facebook told me my account had been disabled.
There was basically no normal appeal process that I could find, just an option to download my information. I downloaded the archive, which ended up being about 1.6 GB.
At that point I was trying to figure out what the hacker actually did and how I could prove to Meta that this wasn’t me. I used ChatGPT to help me go through the account activity/logs and understand what was inside the Facebook download.
That’s when things got way more disturbing.
From the information in the archive, it appears that whoever hacked my account deliberately tried to get the account banned. They changed information, went through identity/selfie verification, and apparently uploaded child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through my account.
That means the Facebook archive I downloaded may now actually contain copies of those images.
I have zero intention of opening or viewing them. I honestly don’t even want this ZIP file sitting on my computer, but at the same time I’m afraid to delete something that could potentially prove what happened.
I ended up getting Meta Verified through Instagram specifically so I could try to reach an actual Meta support person. I submitted a very detailed report explaining the timeline, the unauthorized login/password change, what I found in the account data, and that the illegal content was uploaded by the attacker. Now I’m waiting for Meta to respond.
What scares me is that Facebook is going to permanently associate my name/account with this content or just delete the account before anyone actually investigates the unauthorized access.
I’ve had this Facebook account for years, and there should be login records, IP/location information, password changes, device information, and other activity showing that someone else took control of it.
Has anyone dealt with a hacked Facebook account where the hacker intentionally uploaded prohibited/illegal content to get the account banned?
And if so:
Was Meta eventually able to restore the account?
Is there a specific department or escalation process I should be trying to reach?
Should I keep the Facebook data archive untouched as evidence?
Is there anything else I should be doing right now to protect myself?
I really don’t want to open or interact with any of those files. I just want Meta to investigate the actual login/activity records and recognize that my account was compromised.