My dyed in the wool democrat cousin woke up this morning

[sufrommich]

to a facebook page filled with messages from Mitt Romney because she "liked" him,except she didn't. If fact she wasn't even on Facebook when she supposedly "liked" him. She's furious and wants to know how that happened.Anybody have any idea how that could have happened?

[renie408]

1. The same thing that happened to my 20 yr old son when his status said, "I like penis."??

Somebody hacked her account and probably thought it was funny to go 'like' Mitt Romney in her name.

[sufrommich]

3. Wouldn't you think it was friends of your son though?

My cousin's facebook says she liked Romney last night.Her kids are grown and gone and her and her husband were sleeping.She had 13 messages from Romney this morning.

[hlthe2b]

5. +1

[GoCubsGo]

4. I'm guessing that somebody hacked her account.

Whoever it was may have gotten her name from some Democratic page to which she may have "liked" or commented on. Or, she has a family member who is a practical joker. If she doesn't log out of her account after each visit, anyone who uses that computer has access to her account.

[sufrommich]

6. She does post a lot of liberal stuff on her page, but we

all do. The thing is, only her and her husband have accsess to her computer, and her husband has no interest in computers,probably wouldn't be able to get online let alone into her facebook page.

[Lucy Goosey]

7. I was recently notified by facebook that...

...someone had accessed my account from the Philippines. I have never been anywhere near the Philippines; I decided to delete my account. I never used it anyway. Maybe something like that? I'd suggest to her that she at least change her password.

[alc]

8. does she ever like ANYTHING, expecially on other sites

My fortune 100 company made every brand take like buttons off of our site. Part of that was because FB can track our users even if they don't hit the like button (the button being shown is enough for FB to track, and FB terms won't allow it to be done another way).

The other part is that it's too easy to abuse. We wouldn't abuse it, but someone could get you to like one thing, then change what they are. We could get you to like one brand then use that for other brands.

You could like a "cute kitten" FB page or external site one day. Then they change to a Mitt Romney site with the same FB account and access to you. I don't think the RNC or Romney (or Obama) would do it, but they hire so many outside agencies to get their word out that I can see it happening to Romney or Obama.

And that doesn't even include FB's paying partners. My company uses some of those partners and we have to say NO repeatedly to over 50% of the services they offer because they can do a lot of things that users don't expect (it's in the FB terms but nobody understands exactly what it means)

[sufrommich]

12. Wow, I didn't know that. Yeah,she's liked brands.nt

[Are_grits_groceries]

9. I had a FB page,

but one day somebody had posted a review on the Ipad as if it were me talking about it.
I do have an Ipad, but I no longer have A FB page. I am out. I play Twitter now.

[justabob]

10. some of my friends have had similar happen

only with other products they don't particularly care for.... Bud Light specifically, but I also saw Coors light and a couple of people chimed in with other stuff. I have no idea what is going on, but your cousin isn't the only one it is happening to.

I wonder if it is FB bots or something trying however they can to influence their advertising numbers or some other value building scheme since their stock price is in the tank? I have no idea, just thinking out loud. FB isn't exactly above such moves.

[panader0]

11. I have stopped using facebook after being hacked last year

I started getting dirty e-mails from "friends", one of which has been dead for a while.

[Brigid]

13. I don't do FB. Never have.

And hearing about crap like this is exactly why.

[Brickbat]

14. Probably a hack. It happens.

[KharmaTrain]

15. Careful When You Log On From A Third Party Computer...

When I travel I always chuckle when I see people crammed into the "business center" checking in on Facebook. Problem is that when you log in on a third party machine (hotel, library, friend's house) the puter can remember not only your username but also the password and can let someone access your account.

[MarkTurner]

16. Yes, your cousin has been indeed hacked! She's not alone, either.

Your cousin isn't the first to have her account "like" Mitt Romney's page without her permission. It happened to me and I have a super-strong Facebook password and experience in network security.

When I discovered I had been switched, I checked my Facebook Activity Log. One's Activity Log has a record of EVERYTHING ever done with one's Facebook account. Curiously, the log recorded me "unliking" Romney's page but did not record me ever liking it, though clearly was now a fan. My guess is that some process external to the usual Facebook channels is making this change to random Facebook users. That's why the activity log has no entry. Whether Facebook knows about this or not I will leave up to the reader.

Please join the "Hacked By Mitt Romney" Facebook page and share your story: http://www.facebook.com/MittYouDidntBuildThat

Also, check my blog for updates on this story: http://www.markturner.net/?s=romney+facebook

I have tried to interest news media in this story but so far have had no luck. If anyone has any contacts in the media who might be interested in this story, please steer them to the Facebook group or to me. Thanks!

Mark Turner
Hacked By Mitt Romney Facebook group