Meta would have fired dozens of employees who sold access to some Facebook and Instagram accounts. The Wall Street Journal reports that contractors abused an internal system that allows you to reset an account in case you forget the password. The workers, who worked as security guards, accepted bribes for allowing hackers to gain access illegally to an account.
According to the report, the defendants used Oops (Online Operations), an internal system with which workers can restart Facebook or Instagram accounts. Oops allows you to associate an email to the account to be reset and is used in very specific cases. security guards they received thousands of dollars from people who wanted to take control of the account.
After conducting an investigation, Meta fired more than 25 employees involveds and assured that he would take action against those who carry out this kind of fraudulent schemes.
People selling fraudulent services always target online platforms, including ours, and adapt their tactics in response to detection methods commonly used in the industry.
Meta Spokesperson
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that the company discovers that its employees sell the accesses. In July 2021, he fired a security guard for allow third parties to take control of Instagram accounts. Kendel Melbourne, a contractor for Allied Universal, was indicted for violating the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Melbourne reportedly reset 20 accounts of family, friends and trusted people using the Oops system, which he says was “a benefit of the job”. After being contacted by Meta lawyers, the former employee denied committing fraud and said that the company never instructed him on the rules of the international systemeither.
Accessing Facebook accounts is a business involving employees and outside agencies
Photo rupixen (Unsplash)
Meta’s investigation has revealed one of the biggest problems facing the company. Stoprecovering a Facebook or Instagram account uses an automated system where typical data such as email or mobile number are requested. If you do not have access to them, you go to a second level where you can enter a previous password or check if there is a link with external applications.
Getting support from an employee when someone hacks your account is almost impossible. Despite the fact that the personnel that work in Meta can access the Oops system, its use is limited to accounts of celebrities, friends or family of employees. That is why outsiders pay workers to recover accounts or illegally access others.
Selling access or paying for an account recovery service is against Facebook’s terms of service. That hasn’t stopped agencies charge influencers to recover their profile in case something goes wrong. Companies that offer this service They have contacts within Metawho use Oops to get the job done.
When it comes to illegal access, hackers go directly to contractors and pay thousands of dollars in order to take control of other people’s accounts. Meta’s investigation found that security guards received cryptocurrency payments for their services. Despite the fact that those involved deny the facts and assure that they did it for accounts of friends and family, the truth is that their actions reveal another security problem that Meta faces.
