There was relief on Monday in Orleans County after a threat made against a school turned out to be from hackers on the other side of the world.
According to authorities, an Albion high school student's Facebook page was hacked by someone in Croatia.
Sophomore, Damion Lattimer had safety concerns at school in the past. But Sunday night, those fears increased as word spread of the threat. “It caused some distress honestly. I didn't really want to come to school the next day,” Lattimer said.
According to school administrators, the hacker from Croatia took over a high school student's account and posted "I’m going to blow up the school."
Several students saw it and reported it to teachers.
Investigators said they determined the post's IP address was from Croatia, the student's phone number had been replaced with a Croatian phone number, and his gender was also changed to female. “Clearly, according to Facebook, our student has no control over the account at this point in time. It's in the hands of a Croatian phone number,” said Albion Central School Superintendent, Mike Bonnewell when reached by phone Monday.
We're told the student whose account was hacked is a good student. We're also told he is fully cooperating with authorities.
As for the threat, school administrators said since it didn't specify a location, which is another reason why they determined it unfounded.
There are ways you can help prevent your social media accounts from being hacked. First, make sure the information associated with the account is accurate. Next, change your password frequently because once it is hacked, it can be difficult to regain ownership.
Police are increasing patrols of Albion schools as a precaution.
