The company Meta -parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger- fired and took disciplinary action against more than two dozen employees and contractors over the past year for “hijacking” and unlocking user accounts, in some cases allegedly for bribery, The Wall Street Journal reported today.
These workers would have used the online operations system (Oops), a mechanism that has existed since the early years of Facebook as a means for employees help users who have forgotten their passwords or have lost access to their accounts due to hackers.
Supposedly this procedure is limited to special cases such as friends or relatives of the worker, business partners and public figures.
However, usage increased markedly as headcount increased. In 2020, Oops served some 50,270 requests, up from 22,000 three years earlier, according to an internal document reviewed by the newspaper.
Meta indicated that in some cases the workers accepted thousands of dollars in bribes from outside hackers to access user accounts, according to internal sources with which the outlet was able to speak and documents to which it had access.
Some of those fired were contractors working as security guards at the Meta facility who were given access to the internal mechanism of Facebook’s parent company.
“People selling fraudulent services (such as locked account recovery) always target online platforms, including ours, and adapt their tactics in response to detection methods commonly used in the industry,” the statement said. Meta spokesman Andy Stone told the tabloid, adding that the company “will continue to take appropriate action against those involved.”
These kinds of internal issues highlight the complicated problem Meta has in supporting its customers. more than 3 billion users on its platformssince the company does not have a direct customer service line.
Meanwhile, when users can’t access their accounts, they typically try automated methods to reset them or try to contact a Meta worker by phone or email.
Employee Reva Mandelowitz, who was a contractor for Allied Universal, was fired in February after an internal investigation found that she was allegedly reset multiple user accounts on behalf of hackersreceiving thousands of dollars in bitcoins for their services, according to the specialized media.
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