In Oklahoma City, the eagerly anticipated Vintage Market Days event, featuring over 100 vendors, is facing challenges as it approaches its grand opening on the first weekend of April. Erica Parker, the owner of Vintage Market Days, encountered a significant setback when she received a notification from Facebook in late January, alerting her that someone attempted to reset her password.
Despite reaching out to her employees who had access to the business’s social media accounts, Parker found no leads, as no one admitted to attempting a password reset. Within a short span of ten minutes, hackers had infiltrated her account, bypassing the two-factor authentication and effectively locking her out. Parker swiftly embarked on Meta’s recovery process, managing to regain control of two out of three accounts. However, the unrecovered account, boasting 33,000 followers—a following meticulously cultivated over more than ten years—remains inaccessible.
The situation escalated when the hackers altered the names and profile pictures of her accounts, leaving everything else untouched. About a week later, they began running ads for a diabetic watch using Parker’s ad account, an odd choice that puzzled her. This unauthorized activity led to the theft of $14,000 from Parker, funds used to finance these advertisements.
Describing the ordeal as a roller coaster of emotions, Parker expressed feelings of violation and frustration at being unable to operate her business as usual. The incident has forced her to rethink and adapt her business strategy, especially since social media drives approximately 75% of Vintage Market Days’ ticket sales. Concerns about a potential decrease in attendance for the April event loomed large.
In a show of community support, 3 Strands Vintage Antique Mall and Decades Revisited Vintage Mall stepped forward to offer in-person ticket sales for the event. Cindy Gardner, owner of 3 Strands Vintage Antique Mall, empathized with Parker’s plight, acknowledging the tight-knit nature of the vintage community and expressing a desire to assist.
Despite the setback, Parker’s bank reimbursed the stolen $14,000. However, she has found it nearly impossible to communicate directly with someone from Meta, describing the response system as robotic and unhelpful. Determined to recover her Facebook page, Parker remains committed to the cause, vowing not to give up.
Meta’s press team did not respond to inquiries from News 4 regarding the incident.
Vintage Market Days is scheduled to take place at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds from April 5-7, with daily operations from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online, promising an event not to be missed despite the recent challenges.