This is a public service announcement from yours truly...

Okay, I admit it, I have been one of those annoying people who probably spends far too much time posting pics and video to Facebook; but hey, my family lives in Michigan (I’m in Oregon), and I have friends all over the world that I want to share my life with through photos. Come on, the photos are usually what people want to see most!

So, I’ve spent an embarrassing amount of hours creating my albums and uploading them to my Facebook page – eagerly awaiting the comments. Since I travel for work, I often take photos and video using my iPhone, which I promptly delete from my phone once they’re posted. Because I didn’t have any reason to worry about my precious photos, right? WRONG!

This week I fell victim to the cybercriminals who are accessing Facebook and posing as YOU as they chat with YOUR friends and ask them to send money. Oh, they are quite clever and convincing and I’m told they have been very effective in getting people to send money. Being the good citizen that I am, I promptly reported this to Facebook and sent them all of the details that I had. After which they confirmed that, indeed, my account had been compromised and then notified me that they were disabling my account. Yes, that is correct. I’ve been cut off with no access.

I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but I share this story to warn the rest of you who are happily sharing your memories online without back-ups. I have no idea if I’ll ever get my photos and videos back. So backup your images before posting to Facebook, and if any of your friends ask for money online... Don’t send it!