If you think the Facebook data breach doesn’t affect you, think again. Today I got an email solicitation from a company that from the looks of it is like a payday loan service for companies. I get solicitations all the time, but this one was different. This one mentioned the name of a client for whom I provide services.

I provide blogging, social media, marketing and other solutions for my clients. For many, I blog as though I am them. Ghostblogging, if you will. I write about pretty mundane things, but I don’t share my work on their behalf unless I have gotten their permission to do so. I am often asked to provide examples of my work to prospective new clients, when I do, I ask my client if I can share the URL of a post I have written with someone else. The answer is always yes, but still I ask.

Think The Facebook Data Breach Doesn’t Effect You? Think Again

I don’t know how this company found out who my client was, but it’s disturbing to say the least. I called the number in the email and was suprised to actually get someone on the phone. I asked her how she got that information and she said she did not know, but that she got it from their marketing company. Someone sold them this data.

And, of course, they bought the data.

The information could have come from only two places. The company I use to do my invoicing or Facebook. Those are the only two places that I am aware, that I am connected to this company. I can’t say for sure, but I am pretty certain the invoicing company I use did not sell my information, but I know that Facebook does.

I don’t mind my activity on Facebook being used to market to me. I expect that. I expect to see ads for shoes in my feed because that’s usually what I look at while putzing around on Facebook. 

I don’t expect my personal information and my clients’ personal information to be shared with a marketing company that sells this information for email I never signed up for, we call that spam. 

I want to know exactly who Facebook has been selling this information to. All along we’ve willingly handed over our information to Facebook, or as I like to call them, Big Brother. 

Remember when we all first started using Facebook and many of us used pseudonyms to protect our privacy? Facebook cracked down on that years ago and forced everyone to use their real names – first and last name- now I understand why.

I’m not sure what I am going to do about this. As soon as I finish writing this I am going to be sharing it on Facebook, because that’s going to this piece a lot of exposure. 

 

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