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Hackers take over Arroyo Grande’s Facebook page

March 11, 2022

By BEN DI GUGLIELMO

Thanks to a hacker, the City of Arroyo Grande’s Facebook page is now under the peculiar pseudonym “City of Products stars.” A name change city staff appear to be having trouble correcting.

The hacker allegedly tampered with multiple features of the Facebook page, posted “product videos,” and sent out unsolicited messages.

On Feb. 2, the city informed the public of the hack through a Facebook post.

“Earlier this evening the City’s Facebook page was hacked,” according to the city’s Facebook post. “Administrators are working with Facebook to correct the unauthorized changes, including the account name. We apologize for any confusion and the previous unauthorized post regarding a product video. If you received a message from this account this evening, please disregard as it may contain harmful information.”

Even so, a month later Arroyo Grande’s official Facebook page was still titled “City of Product stars.” On March 2, Arroyo Grande informed the public that city staff was “adamantly working” on fixing the hacked account.

In the meantime, the “City of Product stars” continues posting standard city updates, on topics such as public forums and community events.

These posts are prompting Facebook members to make fun of the city with one commenter calling the page “amateur hour” and another questioning how the public can trust their city.

“I have a fantastic idea,” Keyser Soze posted on Arroyo Grande’s Facebook page. “Consider creating a fresh Facebook profile after downloading all the files from hacked profile. Afterwards simply abandon this hacked version. This is embarrassing. If you cannot manage something as simple as Facebook page, how can we trust you to manage the City of Product Stars? Stay classy AG.”


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Facebook makes it extremely difficult to fix hacked pages. There’s no support. They should just build another page.


2

“City of Product Stars”, I like it. Arroyo Grande (“big ditch”) is boring.


2

I do not understand having anything sensitive on the internet, the closest thing to the public chalk board and when someone takes your computer legally or not, well let’s say you have no secrets. Oh ya you might say, “I have nothing to hide” but you’re only as secure as your privacy. People have had their identity and more stolen under the cloud of passwords and the illusion of privacy. Of everything I have an opinion on, this one is not speculative.


3

Social media is destroying communities.


20

Agreed!


Social media, the new opiate of the masses.


12

Those darn Russians


12

Not only could they not figure it out themselves but they didn’t bother to get someone to figure it out for them? Truly pathetic and embarrassing.


20

No doubt the person charged with maintaining AG’s Facebook page is either a city employee making $100k a year or an independent contractor charging about $50k a year. Whichever it is, if they need help I’m pretty sure my 10 y.o. niece would be able to fix the page in an hour or less. She wouldn’t ask for money, just that you buy a case of Girl Scout cookies from her. What is that? About $60 ??


8

According to city reports, they spend a tremendous amount of taxpayer funds on companies for consulting, IT, social media, website and such and yet none of those companies thought security was an issue. Maybe it’s time to rethink where all these funds are being spent? I doubt the city will because some of those companies are getting sweetheart deals.


2

First thing on the new account dont use the previous password, 1 2 3 4 5 6.


36