Identity Theft, Fraud and Cyberfraud

Hello Readers,

Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the nation. The police cannot protect consumers, but people need to be aware of the dangers that lurk out there in the big bad world because we live in a time that if you make it easy for someone to steal from you, then they will.  Like any forms of stealing, identity thieves leave their victims feeling threatened and terribly violated, which brings me to why I would like to share my story with all of you.

Last weekend, Saturday morning, to be exact, I received lots of messages from people on Facebook who warned me of ‘friend requests’ apparently sent from me to them and that my Facebook page had been scammed, cloned and being used to offer spiritual readings to complete strangers on line.  I clicked onto the offending ‘link’ and saw for myself a bogus Facebook page depicting myself and The Lulas.  Fortunately, the people who contacted me were smart enough to realise that I would never do behave in this manner and that it was a scam.

So I immediately reported this problem to Facebook and the bogus, offending page was eliminated quickly.  I thought no more of it until Sunday Morning, the next day, when I realised that I was unable to access either of my Facebook pages because they were also temporarily suspended and  under investigation.  I had to provide Facebook with identification of who I am, so that they are satisfied before reinstating my pages.

I have also reported this matter to the Police, who have taken this situation very seriously and have provided them with information and leads for them to follow up, because cyberfraud, identity fraud and hacking is becoming seriously viral and dangerous.  It’s also a known fact that so many cases such as these, including burglaries, abusive behaviour and other related crimes are often committed by people whom we know. It’s not always a stranger who is to blame.

So I would like to apologise to everyone who kindly follows me on Facebook for any inconvenience over the last few days because they are unable to read their much loved ‘Morning Posts’ and greetings. I would also like to thank everyone for texting, phoning, emailing and generally getting in touch because they were worried about my sudden absence.  So just to let you know that I have not suddenly ‘passed away’ nor emigrated or disappeared off the face of the earth without telling anyone, it’s just a situation that is being dealt with as we speak.  So please be assured that as soon as things are resolved, I will notify you all immediately.

Hopefully, normal service should be resumed as soon as possible, but in the meantime, my advice to you is to always be alert, on your guard and selective in whom you put your trust. There is a very true saying that goes something like this.  ‘Your best friend could be your worst enemy’.

Thanking you for your time, support and constant encouragement for me and The Lulas to keep going in a forwards direction.  Life can be challenging to say the least, but if we ‘don’t get over it, we end up going under it’.

Until Next Week,

Love and Light,

Linda and The Lulas xxx