A Midlothian woman says she was “threatened” after her Facebook account was hacked and used to flog fake Oasis tickets.
We previously reported Leanne Cherrie, 36, was scammed out of thousands when her social media and bank accounts were ambushed by a cruel hacker.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, she said there was more to the incident than the fake Oasis tickets but still hopes to spread awareness for others.
The mum from Dalkeith woke on January 2 to alarming messages from her friends saying there was activity on her Facebook account – which she deactivated a few months ago.
A post was shared on her page advertising four Oasis tickets at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday, August 9. Leanne said four people allegedly contacted and paid the hacker for these tickets.
The fake tickets were shared on Facebook
She claimed she was then sent “threatening” messages from gutted fans after the bogus sales.
She said: “I wasn’t even trying to get Oasis tickets myself, I had no interest in it. I don’t even use my Facebook.
“They somehow got access to my accounts and my friends started to warn me that my Facebook was selling tickets and that people had paid for them.
“People started threatening me about getting their tickets but I couldn’t do anything about it because it wasn’t me. It was really scary and frustrating really. Police were instantly made aware.”
After going into “panic mode”, the 36-year-old soon realised she couldn’t access any of her accounts – including Netflix, Disney+ and her son’s Xbox. Her bank account was totally wiped leaving her with only 33p.
Her 10-year-old’s son’s inheritance money was also nicked – which was devastating after losing his dad in December last year.
After freezing her bank accounts, inquiries into the fraud are ongoing and her bank have not yet confirmed whether she will be able to recoup the money she lost.
Leanne’s passwords were the same for all of her accounts, making it easy for the hackers to access her Facebook. She later added she is certain the fraudsters stole her details when her son was connected to the internet in public places.
She said the scammers attempted to blackmail her by sharing her photos unless she sent 1,600 in Bitcoin within 48 hours.
Speaking to the Daily Record, she said: “My son regularly uses my phone when we’re out and about on public WiFi.
“Police told me hackers just watch for people on open networks. They got into my email, found my password and then managed to access all my other accounts because I used similar passwords for everything.
“At this point, I don’t know if my bank will be able to recover the funds. It’s like someone’s walked in your front door and stolen everything.
“I would warn everybody never to use public WiFi and to tighten up your security. Change your passwords regularly and use different ones across different accounts.”
Police Scotland Midlothian previously said: “Police Scotland are currently investigating the fraudulent sale of Oasis concert tickets over social media sites in Midlothian.
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“We would like to highlight that the owner of the Facebook profile appearing to sell these tickets is not responsible for the sale, instead it is as a result of their account being hacked.
“Anyone affected by purchasing these tickets should not contact the account holder if known, instead should contact Police quoting incident number 1183 of 03/01/25.”
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Experts at Strathclyde University in Glasgow warn that cybercriminals often target public Wi-Fi to steal confidential information from unsuspecting users.
A spokesperson said: “Free Wi-Fi in hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops may seem convenient, but using public hotspots can make you an easy target for hackers.
“Data passing over a public Wi-Fi network is often unencrypted. A ‘man-in-the-middle’ attack is when a hacker intercepts the data travelling between your device and the Wi-Fi router.
“This makes it possible to steal confidential information, such as passwords or credit card details and It leaves you vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.
“The software used to snoop on unencrypted network traffic is readily available on the internet.”