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Popular bespoke cake maker Something Sweet losing business after being targeted by hackers

Posted on - 23rd February, 2024 - 8:00am | Author - | Posted in - Bamber Bridge, Business, Preston News, South Ribble Locations, South Ribble News
Lauren Iozzi, of Something Sweet, hard at work
Lauren Iozzi, of Something Sweet, hard at work

A bespoke cake creator from Bamber Bridge says her business has been affected hugely by the loss of her primary marketing tool.

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Lauren Iozzi, 33 from Bamber Bridge, set up Something Sweet in 2018 and runs the cake-making business as her full-time job and primary means of income. 

Lauren’s cakes are visually impressive and Facebook and Instagram are an effective way of attracting new business. But these were taken away when her email account, and subsequently her Meta accounts, were hacked. 

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She told Blog Preston: “They signed into my personal Facebook and Instagram, changed the email and password and my date of birth to 13. So then they automatically disabled my account because I was ‘too young’ to have an account. 

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“And because my business pages were connected, I can’t access them anymore. 

A bespoke Something Sweet creation
A bespoke Something Sweet creation

“This is already hugely affecting my business, I have lost all access to message history with customers, lost my primary way of marketing and advertising my products and will potentially lose all of my followers if the account can’t be reactivated within 90 days.”

In addition to having to set up new accounts – temporarily, she hopes – Lauren has also had to go back through all her previous and regular customers to confirm she is still trading and any orders already made will be honoured. 

She added: “I really pride myself on good customer service and I would hate to think that new customers are wondering why they haven’t received a reply from me.”

Something Sweet makes cakes, cupcakes and biscuits for any occasion. Recent themes showcased on social media include Match Attax, the circus and Bluey. The vast majority of the cakes are designed especially to fulfil each customer’s individual brief and are extremely personalised, although more traditional designs are available. 

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Lauren has tried to make contact with Meta to have her account restored but has so far not had any luck. 

She said: “I have currently had no help from Meta, it is incredibly difficult to get in touch with them. 

“I wasn’t able to fill in half of the relevant forms in the help centre because they required me to log in to my account to send them – which I can’t do.

“I have resorted to paying for an ad which I have heard may give me access to a live chat once payment is taken, so I can actually talk to someone in person about my issue.”

Those wishing to support Something Sweet can follow the temporary accounts on Facebook and Instagram. They could also share the post that she has been hacked, which will help avoid customers feeling like they aren’t receiving a response. If you wish to place an order, you can contact Something Sweet at enquiries@somethingsweetpreston.co.uk or via the temporary social media accounts. 

Blog Preston has contacted Meta for comment. 

A bespoke Something Sweet creation
A bespoke Something Sweet creation

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