BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Music is a big part of Lisa Gillihan's life.
"I do go to a lot of concerts, and my friends and family know that," Gillihan said.
She also wants them to know something else.
"I want everyone to know I do not have Taylor Swift tickets," Gillihan said.
She is announcing this publicly, because she said a hacker took over her Facebook page, posting fake Taylor Swift concert tickets for sale.
It sounds like a bargain: $500 apiece for tickets that otherwise start at $2,000 on resale sites.
"They messaged my friends and family through direct messaging though Facebook, trying to ask everybody I knew if they would share the post," she said.
The scammer also got into Facebook groups where Gillihan is a member.
"I think a lot of people feel safe in those kinds of groups, especially like local ones," she said.
It is a trust Laura Cascada knows all too well.
"I thought because this was somebody known in the community, that she was probably just ... she had bought them during the presale," Cascada said
Cascada was looking to buy Swift concert tickets and fell for the same type of hoax Gillihan described.
For proof of ownership, Cascada asked the scammer to send a screen record of the Ticketmaster app showing the tickets had been purchased. She received a video of what appears to be tickets under Ticketmaster's "Events" tab, but nothing was ever sent to her.
Out $1,600 now, Cascada realizes she should have said, "No."
"It was a good chunk of my savings, and it was just really devastating," Cascada explained.
When she disputed the fraud, her bank said the payment was processed as requested and that no error occurred. 13News reached out to the bank, who said they stand by their decision.
A loss like Cascada's is why Gillihan said she tried hard to regain access to her Facebook.
Nothing worked.
Carrie Kerskie runs a business helping identity theft victims, and she told 13News she occasionally helps clients sort through social account takeovers.
"Dealing with Facebook is a difficult challenge," Kerskie said. "If your situation doesn't align with the instructions they have created, you're kind of on your own."
Securing your Facebook account
To try to prevent scams, Facebook suggests using two-factor authentication. It is a setting you can find under "Password and Security Settings" on your Facebook page.
Two-factor authentication means after you punch in your password, a code is sent to your cell phone or a third-party authentication app, and you then type that code into Facebook.
"Every time you log in, it generates a new code, so you're not using the same thing every single time. And you can only get the code if you have access to your device. If you don't have your device, you can't get the code, you can't log in," Kerskie said.
Which is why she warns users new to these two-factor authentication apps to start slow: test it out with just one account first. An oversight on your end could backfire, locking you out of an account forever.
13News reached out to Facebook about the ticket scam, and the company never responded. Gillihan's page, however, is now taken down.
"The hardest thing is losing all the memories that come up," Gillihan said. "My kids, as they're growing up, things with my mom, who's now passed away."
An experience leaving Gillihan feeling that she and Facebook are never ever getting back together.