It has been difficult for me to watch the transformation of my account into something so contrary to the loving nature of Steemit over the last few days.
The above image is what my account looks like at this moment, when 5 days ago it looked like this...
What happened?
The hackers were initially using @accounttransfers to persuade people to hand over their master keys, leaving this message in the wallets of many.
When they gained control of my @samstonehill account they started playing a different game.
First they tried this...
But apparently, seeing this message come from an account named @samstonehill wasn't working for them.
So then they changed their tack, trying to use my decent number of followers & 70 rep to fit the image for their latest scam.
The above message arrived in the wallet of my new account two hours ago and I am a bit confused as to why they would be sending it to me in particular?
Regardless, I am not the only person they sent it to, so stay vigilant everyone!
If you want to learn how it was that I fell for their trap, how to safeguard yourself and how to support me now that I appear to have lost all my STEEM, check my last post HERE and read through the comments to find lots of good suggestions on security measures...
THE TOP SECURITY TIP & SUGGESTION
taken from the comments under my last article
(from @heimindanger - the creator of DTube)
We should get into the habit of logging in with our posting key instead of our master key.
This way if someone does manage to scam you into handing it over, the worst they can do is make posts and comments from your account. And with your master key you can change the posting key easily, locking them out for good.
@heimindanger's exact words were as follows "This is why you should always use the posting key! Logging with the master password should display huge warnings in the steemit.com interface!"
100% agreed. I personally think this is a great idea.
Steemit devs.... are you taking note?
Why are these particular words displayed on my banner now?
I am wondering now looking at the new words on my old banner if Steemit has somehow managed to shut them down in the last few hours?
This doesn't seem like the kind of thing scammers would write if they were trying to persuade people they are 'a group of 250 loyal steemians'.
Could this mean a glimmer of hope for me?
My next power down from the @samstonehill account is due in about 12 hours. It will be around 400 STEEM and I am very curious now to see if they are able to move it out of Steemit as they had intended.
I am hoping very much that Steemit have managed to prevent this from happening...
Time will tell.
If it turns out they are able to transfer out in two hours to an exchange like Bittrex, they will need to provide a memo which I intend to hand over to Bittrex at once, ensuring that their trading account is frozen.
I have written to Steemit to explain this full and somewhat exhausting story... and am awaiting now for their response whilst trying to stay as optimistic as possible :)
On that note...
The large number of beautiful comments under my last post was a huge boost for me. Thank you so much to all of you who commented, upvoted or resteemed 🙏🏻
I finished responding to you all moments ago and I feel as if I have made so many new friends today!
I would like to say an even bigger THANKS to those who donated STEEM & SBD directly to my new account. I did not ask for this and as such it was totally unexpected. I had tears in my eyes when I saw my wallet!
The generosity of the people on this platform blows my mind at times like this. Even to those who just gave a little, I am deeply grateful and I am reminded in this moment of what a special community this really is.
So, thank you again for giving me hope in this difficult time and never forget....
YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!
Well... everyone except that dastardly @samstonehill hacker/scammer chap ;)
