ROMEO, Mich. – A total stranger stole a Macomb County teenager’s photos and videos and decided to upend his life, and there was nothing he could do.
DJ Phillips, 19, discovered that someone was posing as him online, spreading damaging lies that led to real-life confrontations.
The perpetrator? A 15-year-old girl from Novi. A girl that DJ didn’t even know.
Full story --> Macomb County teen’s world upended by total stranger who hijacked his life, spread rumors online
As we dig into the impact victims of hacking and online impersonation face, a cybersecurity expert is sharing some tips on how you can protect yourself online.
And the problem is more widespread than many realize.
In fact, while investigating this story, Local 4’s Karen Drew discovered she, too, had been hacked.
“Within minutes, we found I had been hacked, my photo being used without my permission, connected to some unfavorable words,” Karen said.
The discovery came while working with digital forensic expert Scott Bailey from Troy-based N1 Discovery, who emphasizes that immediate action is crucial when dealing with online impersonation.
What to do if you’ve been hacked
The first mistake people make when they realize they’ve been hacked is not getting proof.
“Document everything,” Bailey said. “The worst part is some people find these things, oh my God, and then what do they do? Next day, they file a police report, and that takes time, and then all of a sudden these sites are gone, the posts are gone or whatever.”
Bailey recommends taking several immediate steps if you discover you’ve been hacked:
- Capture screenshots of all suspicious activity
- Record URLs of problematic websites
- Document any posts or content using your identity
- Save copies of the main screens showing the impersonation
How to protect your children online
For parents concerned about their children’s online safety, Bailey recommends taking a proactive approach, including spending time checking settings on social media platforms.
“There’s plenty of resources available, whether you’re talking Facebook, Instagram, go to their websites,” Bailey said. “They all have parental guides, how to secure a system, all the different security settings for minors to consider.”
Bailey also advises parents to Google their children’s names regularly.
“If all of a sudden you get something pop up, and it’s like, wait a minute, what’s this? This looks like a picture of my child, but I didn’t even know about this website. And you find out it is an impersonation website,” said Bailey.
The cybersecurity expert also suggests uploading an image into Google’s search function to see what comes up.
“You could take a picture of your child. Upload it to images.google.com, Google’s AI then will search the internet for all pictures that look like your child, right? Which is good and bad," Bailey said.
While Google’s image search can be a powerful tool for finding unauthorized uses of photos, Bailey cautions about privacy considerations.
“You are now giving Google a copy of your child’s picture, their face, right? Now, Google, a legitimate company, they make their money off of advertising, not selling personal information,” said Bailey. “They have good security in place, so it’s a trustworthy company, but still, a lot of people would still have trouble putting their pictures up on Google of their children, just to do a search.”
Personal experience with being hacked, reporting it
That’s what they did with Karen’s photo, and within minutes, they discovered that her photo was being used without her permission and was connected to some unfavorable words.
Local 4’s legal team sent a takedown notice to the legal contact of the website, and mentioned phrases like “infringing the copyright image” and requesting that the “image be removed.”
After that, the team got bounce-back emails on two occasions from the legal email address listed.
So the legal team went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Database to track down the app developer, found a lawyer connected to the company and reached out again with another takedown notice.
It’s unclear if that lawyer has a current relationship with the company.
Karen said she’s lucky to have a legal team and understands that most viewers don’t have access to legal help like this. Her personal experience with having her image misused highlighted the complexities of addressing online impersonation.
“This is a frustrating and complicated process that the average person would struggle to navigate,” Local 4’s legal team said.
Regular security checks for ongoing protection
Bailey also emphasized the importance of regular security maintenance.
Just like you check batteries in your smoke detector, you should be checking your online security settings, according to the cybersecurity expert.
For more information about cyberbullying and online safety, Local 4 will host a special roundtable discussion tomorrow at 8 a.m., streaming live on Local 4+, featuring a roundtable discussion about:
- Psychological effects of hacking and bullying
- Warning signs that your child may be in trouble
- Available resources for victims
- Prevention strategies