Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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My Reddit account was lost but is now restored (self.Blind)
submitted by OldManOnFire
Wow, I'm not really sure where to begin without this sounding over the top egotistical (which I am, but I pretend I'm not, so let's pretend I didn't write that).
A month ago this Reddit account was hacked. I was logged out mid session and my password simply stopped working. The account name changed from a blank space to Jason Cooper a couple days later. I didn't have two factor authentication set up and the old email I used when I created this account four years ago was hosted by an ISP company that got bought out by a larger competitor. Not only does that email not exist anymore, the entire domain name is gone. (RIP, xpressweb.)
Without access to the original email and without two factor authentication Reddit's hands were tied. u/rumster got in touch with some people in Reddit admin positions who he'd worked with to resolve issues before but they couldn't do anything. I sent an email to Reddit explaining what had happened, and pointed out my profile pic is actually a picture of me, not posted anywhere else on the internet, and that I had more photos from the same session in the same kitchen wearing the same shirt if it would help confirm my identity, but my hopes weren't high.
That was a month ago.
I just got an email reply from Reddit. My account has been restored to me. I don't know exactly who to thank for this, it looks like u/soundofamillionsuns wrote the email so I think the credit goes to him or her.
r/Blind is the only community I moderate so you're the only ones I feel I owe this explanation.
To those who were chatting with me in DMs, my sincere apologies. I didn't mean to abandon our conversations or ignore your questions.
The replacement account I made, u/BlindManOnFire, will now be retired.
To all of you who walked my little caveman brain through the steps I should take to get my account back, thank you. Not just for the restoration of my account, but for the peace of mind and solidarity and friendship you offered when I was angry and confused. It was comforting and I appreciate your kindness.
And please, learn from my mistake. **Set your account up for two factor authentication** if you haven't already. Don't be stoopid like me!
Should anybody doubt this is really me, I understand your concerns. I'm going to hold off moderating anything until I feel I've regained the trust of this community.
It's good to be back, my friends =)
Much love to all of you.
A month ago this Reddit account was hacked. I was logged out mid session and my password simply stopped working. The account name changed from a blank space to Jason Cooper a couple days later. I didn't have two factor authentication set up and the old email I used when I created this account four years ago was hosted by an ISP company that got bought out by a larger competitor. Not only does that email not exist anymore, the entire domain name is gone. (RIP, xpressweb.)
Without access to the original email and without two factor authentication Reddit's hands were tied. u/rumster got in touch with some people in Reddit admin positions who he'd worked with to resolve issues before but they couldn't do anything. I sent an email to Reddit explaining what had happened, and pointed out my profile pic is actually a picture of me, not posted anywhere else on the internet, and that I had more photos from the same session in the same kitchen wearing the same shirt if it would help confirm my identity, but my hopes weren't high.
That was a month ago.
I just got an email reply from Reddit. My account has been restored to me. I don't know exactly who to thank for this, it looks like u/soundofamillionsuns wrote the email so I think the credit goes to him or her.
r/Blind is the only community I moderate so you're the only ones I feel I owe this explanation.
To those who were chatting with me in DMs, my sincere apologies. I didn't mean to abandon our conversations or ignore your questions.
The replacement account I made, u/BlindManOnFire, will now be retired.
To all of you who walked my little caveman brain through the steps I should take to get my account back, thank you. Not just for the restoration of my account, but for the peace of mind and solidarity and friendship you offered when I was angry and confused. It was comforting and I appreciate your kindness.
And please, learn from my mistake. **Set your account up for two factor authentication** if you haven't already. Don't be stoopid like me!
Should anybody doubt this is really me, I understand your concerns. I'm going to hold off moderating anything until I feel I've regained the trust of this community.
It's good to be back, my friends =)
Much love to all of you.
Criferald 3 points 1y ago
Glad you have your account back!
Wish I could get my original 14 year old account back since it had the name I use everywhere else. I made the mistake of deleting it 10 years ago without knowing that the name would never be purged, and now 5 accounts later this name is the best unique thing that I could come up with.
I didn't even know reddit had two factor authentication until you mentioned it, so I just set it up after reading your post.
This also reminds me to back up my passwords and authentication keys to an external device just in case something bad happens.
Wish I could get my original 14 year old account back since it had the name I use everywhere else. I made the mistake of deleting it 10 years ago without knowing that the name would never be purged, and now 5 accounts later this name is the best unique thing that I could come up with.
I didn't even know reddit had two factor authentication until you mentioned it, so I just set it up after reading your post.
This also reminds me to back up my passwords and authentication keys to an external device just in case something bad happens.
Tasdigo 2 points 1y ago
I'm glad you got your account back and it has motivated me to turn on two factor on my Reddit account. I knew they had it but, I never thought the account would be worth stealing.
OldManOnFire [OP] 3 points 1y ago
I never imagined anyone would want to steal mine. It made no sense.
Then my friends in our Discord channel explained with 38k karma and mod credentials, my Reddit voice has influence. If it's used to spam a political position or advertise something it will carry more weight than a new account.
Then my friends in our Discord channel explained with 38k karma and mod credentials, my Reddit voice has influence. If it's used to spam a political position or advertise something it will carry more weight than a new account.
rumster 2 points 1y ago
maybe it was the letter I sent to the admins?
But /u/soundofamillionsuns is an admin.
But /u/soundofamillionsuns is an admin.
OldManOnFire [OP] 1 points 1y ago
I have no idea, but I'd like to think so =)
TechnicalPragmatist 2 points 1y ago
Well glad you got it back and up and running now being hacked is not good.
-shacklebolt- 1 points 1y ago
Very glad you got it back!
OldManOnFire [OP] 1 points 1y ago
Thank you!
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