Owner of Facebook group blackmailed by online hacker named ‘Sultan’

A Facebook group for visitors to Tasmania has been taken over by a hacker who is demanding money for its return. FULL STORY >>

A WOMAN with a Facebook group of more than 83,000 followers has been hacked by a hacker named “Sultan” – and he’s demanding cash for the return of her page.

Huon Valley woman Tracey Oud said her page, Travelling Tasmania, was hacked in mid-January after a series of fake emails purporting to be from Facebook.

Those emails told her she was unable to access her account because she’d posted a photo in 2014 that contravened community standards.

Ms Oud said she was confused, as that photo merely depicted a rescued elephant – nothing that could be considered offensive.

Nevertheless, she agreed to the decision to remove the photo – a fatal move that may have given the hacker what he needed to take over her account.

“The emails looked legitimate but they weren’t – they were fake all along,” Ms Oud said.

“They are demanding money.”

Tracey Oud has been hacked by a hacker named Sultan

Ms Oud said she started Travelling Tasmania to help visitors to the state discover places to stay, eat and visit.

She runs the page, unpaid, on top of her full-time job as a support worker.

“It’s been hard, it’s devastating,” she said.

“I just created this group to help the people that are coming to Tasmania. I even had Tasmanian businesses on board. I’m not making any money on this, it’s just something to help the Tasmanian community.”

She said “Sultan” had asked for increasing amounts of money in exchange for the return of her page, from $150 to $250 – and most recently $500.

“Members have tried to report this to Facebook or Meta, and we’ve had absolutely no response,” Ms Oud said.

“Apparently he’s got my photo and he’s using it across Facebook.

“I just wanted people to be aware, to let people know.

Ms Oud has recruited the services of a company called IDCARE, which specialises in identity and cyber support.

IDCARE analyst Kathy Sundstrom said scams like the one that took Ms Oud’s password and locked her out of her account were becoming increasingly common.

However, she said she was sure Ms Oud would be able to get her account back.

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