Pingree Grove mom locked out of her Facebook account with little help from company
CHICAGO (CBS) – About 2 billion people still use Facebook on a daily basis. It's a number that includes a Pingree Grove mom until her social media seized up.
CBS 2's Lauren Victory added her to a list of viewers frustrated with the social media giant.
Kristin Oliveto's fun night of fundraising took a turn on the way home.
"We get in the car, open up my Facebook app and I can't get in," she said.
Her account, which she's had for 17 years, was suddenly locked.
"It's asking me to enter my password," Oliveto said. "I'm like, 'This is weird.' I open up my email and there's all the emails."
There were messages informing Oliveto of the change to the email and password linked to her Facebook.
"And then I get the final email from Facebook that's telling me it looks like someone has access to your account without your authorization," she said.
The stranger in control seems to have added a nickname: "Sofie Flowers." The real Kristin Oliveto worries about the person's access to her pictures and posts. Here was Facebook's solution, according to the mom of two.
"They wanted me to email them from the hacker's email because they said the email on my account does not match who I am," she said. "And I've given them all these screenshots, providing them with everything to show that my account was compromised. They told me for privacy and security reasons they could no longer help me."
CBS 2 viewers have been complaining about Facebook's handling of blocked accounts for years.
"Facebook said, 'Uh nope, can't do that,'" one viewer told CBS 2 last year. "And they locked me out."
CBS 2 has told you about a disability advocate prevented from advertising a fundraiser and a small business owner stopped from selling her crafts.
Facebook's help center shows several results for "locked account" but Oliveto and the others told CBS 2 nothing works.
"It's hard to build up that network again," she said. "I've tried to create a new Facebook page, and it's difficult."
"It's my new page," says her new profile. Someone already reported it as an imposter account, adding to her frustration.
In 2021, CBS 2 reported Facebook is taking steps to improve customer service. Perhaps media relations should be added to the list as we had to ask the parent company Meta multiple times for comment.
Meta never got back to CBS 2. The suburban mom is still locked out of her account.