How a hardworking mum lost thousands after falling victim to an alarming ... trends now
An Aussie mum has spoken out after falling victim to a Facebook hacker who drained thousands of dollars from her small business bank account.
Justine, co-owner of baby clothing brand Pip & Lenny, found herself with just $1.71 left in the company's coffers after a hacker stole the rest.
The realisation hit when ANZ Bank notified the mother-of-four about 10 strange withdrawals from the account.
Each transaction was for $1,250, amounting to $10,000.
'Every dollar, gone. We didn't realise that it could happen. It's been devastating to be honest,' Justine told Daily Mail Australia.
She said the hackers gained access to her personal Facebook account which was linked to her credit card.
Exploiting this access, the hackers funnelled the funds into advertising their own dodgy business on Facebook.
'They've been setting up lots of ads to advertise their own business, and that's how the money was spent,' Justine said.
Justine (seen here with her family) might have to close the baby clothing business she co-owns due to a Facebook hacker's attack
The hackers managed to drain thousands from her business account
Baffled by the breach despite having robust two-factor authentication in place and no suspicious activity on her account, Justine said: 'I honestly have no idea how it's happened.'
She also said that she never clicks on suspicious links and is diligent about her cybersecurity.
Justine said that if the money isn't recovered, she and her business partner might have to shut down their clothing company.
'This business is our livelihood. We've got four children each, so eight kids between us, and we work on it endlessly day in, day out,' she said.
'It's just been a devastating blow to our business.
'To be drained of our funds means that we can no longer get stock to our shop, we can't pay our bills, we can't pay our own mortgages because ultimately that's where we get paid from.'
Adelaide mum Justine (right) is pictured with her business partner Bec (left)
While the pair have been 'in contact' with people at Facebook, the company has not yet confirmed if it will cancel the ads and refund them.
However, one worker at Meta, Facebook's parent company, has managed to track down the thief.
'A follower gave us a direct email for someone who works at Facebook and she's been amazing. She said she has found the hacker and their email address.
'So we are really keeping everything crossed that we will get the money back.'
Justine thanked customers for supporting their brand (products pictured) through the difficult time
Now Justine is investigating how they can better protect their business in the future, as she issues a warning to Aussies.
'Just make sure that you've got your two-factor authentication set up and having different passwords for all of your personal and business accounts,' Justine said.
'One thing we've learned from this is to have a bank account that's set up just for your Facebook ads so there's only low funds in it compared to your main account.'
ANZ has also offered to investigate the fraud.
Justine said she was overwhelmed by the support she received from her customers after the scam.
'Lots of people have been placing orders and we've been really humbled by it.'
