My E-Mail Account Has Been Hacked.

You never think that something like this will happen to you. If you're like me, you believe that people are basically good and would never do something like this. Perhaps I have gone through life completely naive, but I now have personal proof that there are really malicious and mean people out there.

My hotmail account was recently hacked by an individual that is obviously out to ruin my photography business and give me a bad name. After receiving a message this afternoon informing me that I did not show up for a planned meeting and that the same thing apparently happened to other individuals over the past few weeks, I began searching through my e-mail sent messages and was shocked to find that there were messages in the sent folder apparently written and sent by myself that I did not write or send. I receive and respond to a large number of messages on a regular basis so it is not uncommon for me to have a large number of received and sent messages in my account. Over the past few weeks I have apparently missed a number of scheduled consultations and meetings that I DID NOT set up. Someone posing as me has been setting up these meetings (which I would obviously not show up for due to the fact that I was completely unaware of them being scheduled). This same individual would then pose as me and send messages of apology to these individuals and sometimes set up a second meeting that I would attend. By this time, my reputation has been tainted in the potential clients' eyes and trust has been broken. I am afraid that due to this unfortunate violation of privacy, I have potentially lost clients and that word of mouth will spread that I am an unreliable individual. I believe that the individual that hacked into my account has also deleted numerous messages before I would read them and then empty the trash folder to erase any trace of the messages. I believe that there were also messages sent by them that were then trashed and completely deleted out of the trash folder. I have no idea how many messages this individual sent posing as me. I also have no idea how many messages were erased without any response from me whatsoever.

I'm not sure if this note will make sense as I am furiously writing and probably babbling due to the fact that I am so upset at the moment. As a new business owner this is one of the worst things that could have possibly happened. The only individual that would do such a thing obviously wants my business to fail for one reason or another. Through research, I have discovered that my e-mail account was hacked possibly as far back as three months ago. If you or someone you know may have sent me a message during that time, it is possible that I did not receive it due to the fact that it may have been deleted by this individual or you may have received a response that was not actually written or sent by me.

I believe that it is most likely an individual that knows me personally as crimes like this are very personal. Through reading some of the messages sent by this individual posing as me, they obviously know a lot of my personal information and day to day activities. It does not look as though this individual actually attended meetings posing as me or taken money from anyone as deposits for weddings or portraits, but if you have any concerns that you met with someone who may not have actually been me, please contact me as soon as possible. If anyone has met with this individual you may be able to provide a description which will help the authorities.

My hotmail account will be deleted as soon as all necessary information has been looked into by the authorities. From now on, I will be using a Gmail account and ask that all future messages be sent to psphotographics@gmail.com. I ask that you please inform me if you have had a scheduled appointment with me over the past few weeks that I did not attend. I am doing everything that I can to rectify all of the damage that this individual has caused to my business and reputation. If you receive any further messages from my hotmail address, it is not me writing or sending the message and I would appreciate it if you could let me know that you have received a message from that account.

Halifax is a very small city so my business thrives on word of mouth referrals. I have received unkind messages and comments from individuals that believe I have been not showing up for scheduled appointments. I can only ask that people try to understand my frustration at the moment due to this violation and I am doing everything in my power to rectify all of the damage that has been caused. If you are frustrated due to a missed scheduled appointment with me, imagine how I feel right now. These appointments were not set up by me and I am now suffering the consequences. Identity theft such as this is very personal. This individual was not out to steal my money, but to ruin my reputation as a business owner and an individual.

The success of my business is my number one priority. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of all the damage that this individual has caused. This is such an unbelievable nightmare for me. Everything is being done to find out who would commit such an awful crime. Legal action will be taken, but I am afraid that my reputation has already been ruined.

Patricia