Illinois grandma gets no help from Facebook for her hacked art business page
DEKALB, Ill. (CBS) – A DeKalb artist's positive vibes are being ruined by Facebook hackers, who had to jump through hoops to get someone to help.
CBS 2 spoke to Marilyn Bell as she painted one of her pieces about the "simple things." But the not-so-simple things she's been through in the past year created a colorful tale.
To help paint the picture, consider the more than 1,500 crafts people have bought from the DeKalb grandmother online.
"I've had a sale in almost every state," Bell said.
Customers can find cute gnomes, smiling gingerbread men and then the less cheery side of Bell's business on her Facebook page.
One of her fans wrote, "Were you in Facebook jail again?"
Yes. Again.
"There needs to be accountability for what's going on," she said.
Her problems started with a warning in January 2023. Facebook's parent company Meta said Bell's content went against community standards.
Reporter: "What was on your page?"
Bell: "There was like some war pictures? It looked like people with guns."
The painter said she definitely didn't post that, but it resolved itself, so she thought nothing of it.
Then, a month or so later, her brush with Facebook security got worse. Her account was suspended.
The flagged content this time was child pornography, Bell said.
"And that was just horrifying," she added.
Bell wrote a complaint to the Better Business Bureau about Meta's lack of help, "I assure you I did NOT post this!" She added, "Why can't I get this fixed?"
Bell added, "I really didn't know what else to do."
She then found Hacked.com and Greg Franklin.
"We've recovered thousands of accounts to date," Franklin said.
Hacked.com's help sessions start at $39.99. Of all the social media platforms they work with, the site said customers most often reach out about Facebook issues.
Reporter: "Nobody on your team is like, low-key best friends with somebody at customer service that could fix this on the sly?"
Franklin: "That's something that a lot of people ask us to, and I've often thought myself, let's try to make that connection, but no."
Instead, Franklin said he tries a bunch of account-unlocking tactics. In Bell's case, he suggested she buy a virtual reality set made by Meta, called the Oculus. It cost her $400.
Reporter: "What business does a grandma have buying an Oculus?"
Franklin: "There was this loophole where we could contact Meta support through the Oculus site and then submit a case to them."
The Oculus purchase did get Meta to respond, but Bell was told nothing could be done because her suspended profile was attached to a business account.
She and Franklin also worked together to submit a complaint to the Illinois Attorney General's Office.
Reporter: "One day, you woke up and your page was just back?"
Bell: "Yes."
But the happiness lasted about six months.
"It says that they have suspended my account," Bell said. "It says to log into Instagram, but when I go to my Instagram, I can't get anything there either."
She added, "I thought, 'Are you kidding me?'"
CBS 2 heard from several viewers who said Meta needs to spend more money on customer service. One area the company is investing in is a data center that's located less than 10 minutes from Bell's home.
"There's nobody to talk to," Bell said.
Franklin added, "It's very difficult to get a hold of live support."
It's possible the company was preoccupied with other priorities.
Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerburg apologized to families of children impacted by online child sexual exploitation during a Congressional hearing last month. Customer service was not a focus of his testimony.
Back in DeKalb, with a $400 virtual reality set she won't use and a second Hacked.com session paid for, CBS 2 learned Bell got even craftier.
Reporter: "You said you even tried to make a new Facebook page. Start over?"
Bell: "Right. I was blocked immediately. Immediately!"
Customer service isn't the only department at Meta that's not good at follow-up. CBS 2 contacted the company's press team multiple times on Bell's behalf.
No one responded.
Bell remained in cyber-limbo as her Facebook page remains suspended.