My account was hacked

About a week ago I woke up to check my email and was aghast to find out that someone had accessed my oDesk account and did many changes. Mainly this person changed the email address connected to the account, the security question and my payment method. It was like waking up to a nightmare when I realized that my account was just hacked. I felt my eyes sting and warm tears suddenly ran down my cheeks as so many realizations hit me at the same time.

You would not want to wake up to this realization. 

One thought was about the money- I had about $53.00 in my account which I have not withdrawn yet. I felt so bad because that $53.00 was equivalent to a couple of weeks of doing fixed price jobs. It was hours spent writing in front of a computer instead of sleeping or watching TV.

You might think that $53.00 is not much and it really isn't compared to what I used to make on an hourly writing job, but still- you don't conjure up $53.00 out of thin air.




Then I realized another horrifying reality- if I loose this account I loose a source of income- even if it's just a sideline, it still brings in money. I've always enjoyed working as a freelance writer on oDesk because I get to do what I want to do and I get paid for it. I may not get to write what I want to write or how I want to write it but at least I get to use this talent which God has given me. Instead of just letting it go to waste. I get to sharpen this talent of mine as you would sharpen a sword to a whetstone and I get paid for it!

Aside from loosing a source of income this account also means throwing away two years of work building a reputation among clients. In the world of freelance work, your score and rating is very important and essential in order for you to survive. I realized that loosing this account also meant loosing the reputation that I worked so hard to build. My account was equivalent to two years of freelance writing, hours and hours of working on weekends and during my days off. Thinking of all of these possibilities which could stem from my account being hacked what I feared the most was knowing that not only did the hacker compromise my account but the hacker also possibly ruined two years worth of freelance work. I was so frustrated and angry and I felt so helpless it was definitely a feeling that nobody would want to wake up to.

I have no idea how the hacker did it but he did. 

I contacted oDesk to create a ticket in order to report what had happened. They were very helpful and my account was immediately suspended for the time being. I was relived to know that all financial transactions were suspended- at least the $53.00 was not going anywhere.

It took about a week of corresponding with the oDesk support team but finally I was able to access my account again. When I went through my account I saw that the hacker ended all my existing contracts. Not only that but this hacker also had the nerve and the audacity to message my clients with rude messages that contained a lot of profanity. All this with the perception that I was the one who was ending contracts and sending rude messages. I was seething with anger, did this guy have nothing else better to do?

I was angry but then I also felt some pity for this hacker, if you had to go through someone's account and cause havoc and mayhem then essentially you were guilty of a crime and to do this behind a computer and behind the veil of the internet basically made you a coward. Technology and the internet is a strange thing because essentially it is supposedly an available resource in order to make our everyday lives easier but ironically just as man finds a way to do good, there will always be people who will find a way to twist this good intention and turn it into an evil and malicious way in order to hurt, abuse and harass others.

When you think about hacking into someone's account or computer you would think that this is something that you only see in movies or watch on TV. Hey, I'm a big fan of Lisbeth Salander and who would not be impressed into how she hacked her way to put an end to a corrupt business man among others. But when you are the one who is on the other end of the stick it becomes a different story. You would never think that it would happen to you- that it could happen in real life.

Lisbeth Salander from David Fincher's version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo hacking away. Image from Google. 

This was something that I worked hard for and it was a fruit of my honest and hard labor and if you Mr. Hacker had to squirm your way in to attempt to ruin everything that I have worked hard for- then I pity you. I pity you because you are a coward who has nothing else better to do. You do your evil deed behind the anonymity and security that the internet offers that is an act of cowardice if I ever did see one. It's a good thing that my money was not swindled and I have regained control of my account, It's a good that you have failed Mr.Hacker and you might have escaped punishment for now but haven't you heard yet? Karma is digital nowadays.