Sunday, my alarm began going off at 5 a.m., and by 5:45, I was seriously considering getting out of bed. Tilly was snuggled tight into a ball, not wanting to be disturbed, and though I had to be a church early to practice for my reading part in the morning’s worship services, I had more than an hour to get ready. So I decided to check my email.
I opened the email app on my iPhone from bed and noticed I had more than 30 unread emails just since the evening before. Has my blog gone viral? I ask myself, hoping. As I began perusing the subject lines, however, I realized the situation was far more sinister. Each of those 30 unread emails was an out-of-office message or a system-undeliverable message for emails sent from my account. But not by me.
I’d been hacked.
Around 8:30 a.m., another round of emails was apparently sent out, each one listing a URL address hyperlinked to websites I would never visit. I received back more than 40 undeliverable messages that time.
Then personal emails began rolling in from friends who were questioning whether I would send them such a message. People stopped me at church. Later that day, my mom asked me about it when I was at her house. Some had received a similar message before and knew right away what had happened. Others worried I might have infected them. A few, only slightly suspicious, wondered why I didn’t include a message in the Subject line.
“You always include a subject line,” one friend said.
“I know. You often don’t even need to read the email my subject lines are so thorough,” I joked.
After a little research, I found that my email account had been accessed world-wide by “mobile users” in places like the United Kingdom, Russia, and the Philippines. My email provider informed me that they have experienced wide-spread problems, and even included a simple solution to fix the problem right on their frequently-asked-questions page.
By evening, I had enough information so that I could send back a reply to everyone who had contacted me personally: “Someone hacked into my yahoo account. I think I have isolated the problem for now. Sorry for your trouble.” It didn’t seem like enough after all of the stir it caused. Yet, I wasn’t sure what else to do.
I was a victim; I was falsely accused. I had to suffer the consequences of someone else’s sin. I even had to make amends.
Sounds like another story I’ve heard before . . .
Clever title, Charity. On a theological level, it IS the gospel to the hacker. We all have our ways of looking for the good news, you know? They happen to find theirs in this type of “work,” despite its disordered nature and the damage it causes others.
Sorry that they did their searching via you.
Love the way you weave the gospel into something that should make you mad!
Thanks for setting such a gracious example for all of us in how to handle something like this. The more I connections I make between all my electronic accounts, the more vulnerable I feel to hackers. (Why don’t people who are that talented/smart/techno-savvy use their skills to do good in the world?)Good to know folks are responding graciously to you–any one of us might be next.
Oh, and congrats on the gig with The High Calling! Good folks. Blessings.
Michelle – I’ve seen those Facebook hoaxes before. I think they are funny, because it’s always the least likely people!
I’m always happy to be part of your Monday community! Thanks for being such a good hostess.
Amber – Yes, it became quite a distraction as I arrived at church and people began asking me about the email. But the Lord redeemed it all.
Laura (Outnumbered Mom) – I think it’s grace that we get only glimpses and never have to experience the extent of the betrayal and suffering. Thanks for your comments.
Oh poor you! I saw your email…but I’m pleased to report that I know you well enough that I knew it was a hoax — Charity wouldn’t send a simple link with no explanation! So I guess the silver lining is that you now see how many wonderful connections you’ve built in this online world.
I’m sorry you got hacked…though it did make for a good analogy.
A similar thing happened to me on Facebook once — my account sent out a weight loss hoax to all my friends. My dad emailed me to find out more — guess he doesn’t know me very well! 😉
What timing – as you were preparing for your Lent piece. Thanks for pointing us to Christ.
Sometimes we get just a taste of what it’s like to walk the road beside Him, don’t we?
What an analogy.
Jenn – I think being falsely accused is one of the worst forms of injustice.
Jennifer — There certainly was a little fuming. I’ve continued to get emails all day today about the email.
And truthfully, I was writing this story up just because I thought it was interesting . . . it wasn’t supposed to mean anything. And when I wrote that next to last paragraph, it dawned on me.
Laura — You’re right about that . . . none of us can know injustice quite like Jesus. It is fascinating to me to see the truth of gospel played out in a hundred different ways in our lives. All opportunities to be reminded of Him.
Ann – You of all people would know that I NEVER write an email without a subject line! I love how we keep them going.
And thanks for the “thinking” compliment. Sometimes my thinker works better than others!
Jenn – It only makes sense that evil would seep into all iterations of the world in these times. Eventually, the repercussions of my hack job will fade, I hope.
Wow…good analogy. I HATE being falsely accused. I cannot imagine that feeling being magnified.
What an interesting connection! And I’m sure looking at your situation in light of Christ’s sacrifice, apologizing didn’t seem like nearly as big a deal.
I, however, probably wouldn’t have made the connection to Jesus and would’ve fumed all day! 🙂
I’m so sorry about the hacking, Charity. These things have a way of leaving us bruised up and empty-feeling, don’t they? I’m glad no real harm was done and grateful for you point of view. What a blessing to have such a Great Example to follow, no?
I was spared–nothing without a subject line came from you, and I know you wouldn’t miss an opportunity to compose a great subject line for me! 🙂
You make the most fascinating connections, always thinking and making us think.
Hackers are really low down mean people, but they too need the love of Christ, I try to remember. And yes, I see the parallel. Still, it spews of injustice and evil. I have received many “weird” emails from different friends and always assume they’ve been hacked and nothing more. I would never think they were sent intentionally. I wish there were a way to stop these hackers.