CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — It's a tale News 5 has covered extensively: frustrations with Meta. This story, however, has a happy ending.
I first introduced you to Marie Willis-Guarneri right before the New Year.
She'd been feuding with Meta for almost two weeks at that point because six of her accounts between Facebook and Instagram had been hacked.
A fraudulent post was shared on her personal profile claiming her uncle's health was declining, which was forcing her to sell his things.
Expensive items were listed for sale, such as a 2018 Toyota Highlander and a Rolex watch.
"A friend did think that they were reaching out to me and buying something for Christmas, and now they're out $750, and they've not gotten that money back," Willis-Guarneri said.
Willis-Guarneri said the impersonator was also buying advertisement space on Meta and purchased profile verification.
She managed to gain brief access to her Instagram account, but before her eyes, she was watching someone message Meta's customer service to change the email and password associated with the account.
Shortly after, she was kicked out of the account.
Willis-Guarneri told me on Dec. 30 that she'd tried getting a hold of a Meta representative who could help, but she felt like she kept hitting a wall.
She reached out to News 5 for help.
I emailed Meta's press team, and a representative told me her case was being investigated.
Willis-Guarneri told me that within 48 hours of the story airing, she managed to get back into each of her accounts.
"There’s nothing I could do. You are the only reason why I got these accounts back because Meta heard ‘reporter’ and they responded to you. No one was going to respond to me," she told me on Thursday.
Willis-Guarneri said she was able to prove her identity by snapping a picture of her passport photo.
"I'm very nervous that it's just going to happen again," she said. "I'm not quite sure why Meta is not doing anything about it."
I reached out to Meta again on Monday for updates, but didn't hear back.
While her case is undergoing review, according to the Meta spokesperson I previously spoke to, Willis-Guarneri said she's taking matters into her own hands.
When she managed to get her accounts back, she weeded through the messages of the person who hacked her account.
She found bank information, Zelle and Venmo information and Cuyahoga Falls addresses.
"I took screenshots of everything," Willis-Guarneri said. "I've updated the Attorney General with all of that information."
She's worried, though, that her hacker might be operating from overseas.
"I don't know if the Ohio Attorney General even has the authority to do anything. There's just so many what-ifs, and I don't think there are the resources necessarily to handle this," Willis-Guarneri said.
While she'd prefer that the person who hacked her accounts and financially took advantage of her friend be caught, she's happy to have her online life back.
Willis-Guarneri hopes her story is a warning to others to take extra precautions.
"Protect yourself as much as you can. Change your passwords. Do two factor authentication. If you do move forward with buying something on Facebook from a friend that you know, it could possibly be a scam. Double-check to make sure that this actually is the person that you're talking to. Go to a public meeting space," she said.
She also wants Meta to hear a message loud and clear.
"You should, as a user of a platform, be able to have a [customer] service provided to you because you use that platform. Changes definitely need to be made," Willis-Guarneri said. "Truly, you're the only reason that I got these accounts back. I'm so grateful. That should not be the case. It should absolutely not be the case."
Meta recently announced new ways to access account assistance on Facebook and Instagram.
If you have something you need me to look into, please email me at Kaylee.Olivas@WEWS.com.
