Scots mum threatened after hackers used her Facebook page to flog fake Oasis tickets

A Scots mum says she was "threatened" after her Facebook account was hacked and used to flog fake Oasis tickets.

The Record previously reported that Leanne Cherrie, 36, was scammed out of thousands when her social media and bank accounts were ambushed by a cruel hacker.

Police have backed her, and issued a statement confirming it was scammers, and not Leanne, offering the tickets for sale.

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The mum from Dalkeith in Midlothian woke on January 2 to alarming messages from pals saying there was activity on her Facebook account - which she deactivated a few months ago.

A post was shared on her page advertising four Oasis tickets for the gig at Murrayfield Stadium on Saturday, August 9. Leanne said four people allegedly paid the hacker for these tickets.

She claimed she was then sent "threatening" messages from gutted fans of the Manchester band after the bogus sales., reports Edinburgh Live.

She said: "I wasn't even trying to get Oasis tickets myself, I had no interest in it. I don't even use my Facebook.

"They somehow got access to my accounts and my friends started to warn me that my Facebook was selling tickets and that people had paid for them.

"People started threatening me about getting their tickets but I couldn't do anything about it because it wasn't me. It was really scary and frustrating really. Police were instantly made aware."

After going into "panic mode", Leanne soon realised she couldn't access any of her other online accounts - including Netflix, Disney+ and her son's Xbox. Her bank account was totally wiped leaving her with only 33p.

Her 10-year-old's son's dad died last year and the inheritance money he left for his son was also stolen.

After freezing her bank accounts, inquiries into the fraud are ongoing but the mum's bank have not confirmed whether she will be able to recoup the money she lost.

Leanne used the same passwords for all of her accounts, making it easy for the hackers to access her Facebook. She is certain the fraudsters stole her details when her son was connected to the internet in public places.

The mum said the scammers attempted to blackmail her by sharing her photos unless she sent 1,600 in Bitcoin within 48 hours.

She previously said : "My son regularly uses my phone when we’re out and about on public WiFi.

"Police told me hackers just watch for people on open networks. They got into my email, found my password and then managed to access all my other accounts because I used similar passwords for everything.

"At this point, I don’t know if my bank will be able to recover the funds. It’s like someone’s walked in your front door and stolen everything.

"I would warn everybody never to use public WiFi and to tighten up your security. Change your passwords regularly and use different ones across different accounts."

Police Scotland Midlothian previously said: " Police Scotland are currently investigating the fraudulent sale of Oasis concert tickets over social media sites in Midlothian.

"We would like to highlight that the owner of the Facebook profile appearing to sell these tickets is not responsible for the sale, instead it is as a result of their account being hacked.

"Anyone affected by purchasing these tickets should not contact the account holder if known, instead should contact Police quoting incident number 1183 of 03/01/25."

Strathclyde University boffins warn that cybercriminals often target public Wi-Fi to steal confidential information from unsuspecting users.

A spokesperson said: "Free Wi-Fi in hotels, restaurants, and coffee shops may seem convenient, but using public hotspots can make you an easy target for hackers.

"Data passing over a public Wi-Fi network is often unencrypted. A 'man-in-the-middle' attack is when a hacker intercepts the data travelling between your device and the Wi-Fi router.

"This makes it possible to steal confidential information, such as passwords or credit card details and It leaves you vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.

"The software used to snoop on unencrypted network traffic is readily available on the internet."

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