I logged into my account 2 days ago, and instead of seeing the normal 2 or 3 new views and maybe a message or 2 there were 90 views and 35 messages!  I knew I was in trouble.  Reading the messages, they were all in reply to messages I never sent!  I immediately composed an apologetic message and sent it back as a reply, telling the women I had NOT contacted them, and if they received a msg from me, it was not me who sent it.  Several sent me copies or screenshots, all of which were the same, as follows:

"Hey hun, I'm looking for a friend and some company. Financial support and weekly allowance assistance are both things I'm willing to give you. Send me a text at ‪+1 (415) 937‑01‬40. Let's have a better conversation."

And each one had a different phone number.  Someone was using my account to spam hundreds of SBs nationwide.

Thinking back, I believe I know how this happened.  I had been texting with a potential SB who offered to send me some photos.  She sent me a link, and I clicked on it.  It brought me to what looked exactly like the Seeking login page, so I dutifully (and stupidly) entered my login email and password.  When I hit enter I got the "Incorrect username or password" message, which I thought was odd cuz I know the info was correct.  Soon after that, the spam began.

I realize now that I got phished.  The whole thing was designed to get my login info, and once they had it, they could login as me and use my account as they wished.  What I don't understand though is that I did have the verification thingy turned on.  They should have contacted me to verify the login was legit when it came from a different device or phone number.  But that fail-safe did not work.

About an hour after I discovered the problem my account was deleted.  As expected.  Spamming is not allowed, nor should it be.  I emailed Seeking Support and explained the problem. I told them I had been hacked and the spam was NOT done by me.  I'm waiting to hear back, but for now, I am off Seeking.

Holy crap! So sorry this happened to you.  

 
Don't be too hard on yourself for your slip.  These people have been designing credential-stealing scams for years and they have been upping their game continuously. You only have to make one mistake for them to win. They can keep trying hundreds, even thousands of times with little to no consequences until they get lucky.  

 
I do hope SA cooperates with you and restores your account. Or they allow you to set up a new one (what a hassle!).  It's worth noting that the 2FA (two-factor authentication) measure they said they would use was ignored, So, at least some of the blame is on Brandon.  

 
For all the time we spend on TER discussing issues like how not to get scammed by a POT, we tend to focus on tactical issues like when to give or not give her cash.  But this is a strategic issue. We need to think of our SA account security just like we do for our bank accounts.  Never click a link sent by anyone! If you are directed to go to a site where you have an account (or want to set up an account), don't use the link! Instead, use a bookmark from your browser, or lookup the company on Google (if it's well-known), or type in the URL using a trusted source document (like past emails you have received from that company).  

 
I feel for you, Papa Sweet!  I just dropped a load into my Asian Porn Star's mouth last week... being able to do that reinforces that all the efforts we take in the Sugar Bowl are, eventually, worth it.  

 
Life is good

 
The Cat

Thanks for the encouragement Herb!  Much appreciated!  Here are some noteworthy highlights to date:

1.  I've received cordial, apologetic, and helpful messages from Seeking support.  Total 180 degree about face from their attitude last time this happened, and very welcome.  They invited me to create a new account using a new email address and new password.  My awesome wife thinks their previous unhelpful, rude attitude probably backfired on them and cost them a lot of paying members, and prompted their new kinder response.  I'd like to think that's true.

2. I have created my new Basic Account, still working on adding photos and have not yet paid for premium status.  But it is up and running.

3. The 2FA system is broken.  Seeking support confirmed that my 2FA was enabled on my old account last April.  So when the Phishers logged in from their device using my login credentials, I should have received a code to enter and prove it was really me. That did not happen.  Furthermore, when I tried to enable the 2FA on my new account I got an error message: "There was an issue connecting your phone number. Please try another method."  I have emailed Seeking Support to request guidance on this.

That's the news from Lake Woebegone, stay tuned for more developments!

Glad you're getting better treatment this time.  I think your wife is onto something. When the support team finally realized their 2FA system was broken, the also realized they needed to change their tune to this issue.  

 
Once you get your premium status restored, I suppose your biggest challenge will be reconnecting with POT's that have not moved off the site to text.  "Hi. It's Sweetman.  Yeah, I know this is a new profile but trust me, it's really me."  Unfortunately, that sounds a lot like a scammer's opening line.  

 
BTW: "That's the news from Lake Woebegone, stay tuned for more developments!"  I'll bet there's not a single POT under 40 on Seeking that will get that reference.  LOL  (Damn I'm old!)  

 
Life is good

 
The Cat

It may be your old phone number is linked to the compromised account and won't work on the new one.
One option (I think you said you just use one number) would be to create a Google Voice account and keep that just for Seeking. It's good to have, notably when you start a convo with a new POT and don't know if it's a scammer.

'Mouche, I had the same thought.  Last March when I had the same problem I did actually create a second number using Google voice.  But I am seriously techie challenged when it comes to this stuff.  I never used the number for anything other than the 2FA thingy on Seeking, which, when needed, evidently did not work.  I don't even remember the numb. er and I have no clue how Google voice works, what it's for, why it exists.  I'm too mentally exhausted right now to even try learning a new app.

Google voice is good because you can use it as an app on your phone or on your PC.
If you are on gmail or any other Google page you can click on the square top right with all the apps and GV will open and show your number. I don’t remember mine either. But it is convenient since you can send messages and images from your desktop, assuming you’re a dinosaur and still using one.

Thanks!  Yes I am a dinosaur and I do use my desktop  PC for most things.  I never knew that about google voice or the "square top right with all the apps".  

Creating a new profile was fairly painless and I had no trouble getting activated on Seeking this time around.  I used the same profile photos and screen name and text as I had used in the account that got hacked.  So I'm up and running again.  And getting absolutely swamped with likes and DMd from people nowhere near my location.

Lake Wobegon? Is that the place "where all the SBs are strong, all the SBs are good-looking, and all the SBs are above average?"