This is sadly a common story.
Generally speaking, it isn't difficult to prove ownership of something physically in your possession. You could have receipts or old photos that would usually be accepted as proof that something is yours. Possessing and proving your rights over something physical is easy enough.
One of the problems I face at least a few times a month is clients who don't own or have lost ownership over their virtual property - their website, social media pages, analytics, Google My Business, etc.
In some cases it can be easy to claim ownership. Google have a fairly simple process to claim a currently unclaimed Google My Business listing. Proving ownership when it's uncontested is usually relatively simple. When ownership is contested it can create problems.
As an example, a client who has several retail stores and an ecommerce site recently contacted me saying that they couldn't seem to access their Facebook page. After investigating the issue it became clear that a previous contractor had hijacked the page as well as their website, analytics, and Google My Business. The website had been defaced to stop it from loading but thankfully nothing nefarious had been posted to their Facebook page.
Recovering these virtual properties can be a bit of a nightmare. For the client above we were thankfully able to recover the website relatively simply using a "I forgot my login email and password" option, however regaining access to Facebook pages, analytics, and Google My Business is an involved process with no guarantee of success - especially if the hostage taker decides to delete the accounts.
There's a few steps business owners can and should take to protect themselves:
Ensure you own each account being used.
A common issue I come across is business owners not being in control initially of important accounts. Maybe an employee in their business set up their Google Analytics and did so with a personal email account, or their web developer set up their Google My Business account for them.
In instances such as these, business owners are granted access to the account but aren't always made to be the primary owner of the account. This is important - if you're not the primary owner of these accounts then you don't have much of a leg to stand on if someone wants to make changes to (or delete) these accounts.
It isn't enough to simply say "I have the password to log in to these accounts". You also need to own the email address that these accounts are associated with. Having a password to your accounts doesn't help you if it isn't the current password and you don't have the ability to log in to the email address that controls the account.
Be careful with access permissions.
Think very carefully about the level of access you need to give to other people - especially people that are outside of your business.
Does everyone in your business need admin access to your Facebook page? What would change if they had a lower level of access? How about your Google My Business page - you might be the primary owner, but do you need additional users with owner level access?
The different platforms that you use often have various levels of access for a reason - it limits your exposure if one of your accounts is hacked or if a disgruntled employee wants to cause havoc.
With each platform you use, spend the extra few minutes to learn what each access level can do and choose the lowest option suitable for each person.
Don't hand out your own login credentials.
Do you know one of the easiest ways to get most insurance companies to not pay out on a claim? Tell them that you gave the crook your keys.
That's obviously a generalised statement, but it holds true with your online properties as well. Keep your keys to yourself. Add in other users as needed and follow the advice above to make sure you're not giving away too much access to people who don't need it.
Giving away your credentials makes it possible for someone to either take away your access or grant another user access - possibly without telling you. It can also be possible to transfer ownership of an account to someone else without your knowledge.
It should go without saying that this applies to email addresses as well. Giving out the login credentials to your Facebook account is bad enough, but if something goes wrong you should be able to reclaim your account through your email address. But if you hand over details for your email as well, it becomes a lot more difficult to figure out if or when things are going wrong.
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from Search Engine Optimization: The Latest SEO News https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/jf6kcv/reminder_never_give_up_control_of_your_website_or/>
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