Security News > 2022 > November > Meta Reportedly Fires Dozens of Employees for Hijacking Users' Facebook and Instagram Accounts

Meta Platforms is said to have fired or disciplined over two dozen employees and contractors over the past year for allegedly compromising and taking over user accounts, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Included among those fired were contractors who worked as security guards at the social media firm's facilities and were given access to an internal tool that allowed employees to help "Users they know" gain access to accounts after forgetting their passwords, or had their accounts locked out.

The system, called "Oops" and short for Online Operations, is off limits to a vast majority of the platform's users, leading to the rise of a "Cottage industry of intermediaries" who charge users thousands of dollars and reach out to insiders who were willing to reset the accounts.

Given the limited access to the tool, it's not surprising that a black market of sorts has sprung up to service users who have lost access to their accounts.

In one instance, a former security contractor purportedly assisted unnamed third-parties to fraudulently take over Instagram accounts.

Meta told the Journal that buying or selling accounts or paying for an account recovery service is a violation of the social network's terms of service.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/11/meta-reportedly-fires-dozens-of.html