This article has been updated to include comments from the public.
DELMARVA - Both the Ocean Pines Yacht Club and Touch of Italy are warning community members about compromised Facebook pages this week.
The Ocean Pines Yacht Club announced Sept. 14 that its Facebook page had been hacked and was no longer under the control of yacht club staff. The club said posts, links and messages coming from the page were not being made by its employees. The posts since the hack include various political graphics.
The club advised people not to click unusual posts or links, respond to messages from the page or provide personal information. The organization said it is working to regain control of the account.
Touch of Italy Hospitality Group is reporting a similar problem involving several of its business Facebook pages. The company also said the pages have been compromised and are currently outside its administrative control.
Since the compromise, unauthorized users have posted inflammatory and inappropriate material that Touch of Italy said is unrelated to the company or its affiliated properties.
Touch of Italy stressed that the material was not created, authorized, endorsed or approved by the company. The content being posted since the page was hacked include playful, food-related vertical videos.
“We understand that people who have followed and supported our businesses may be confused or concerned by what they are seeing,” said a representative of Touch of Italy Hospitality Group. “We want our community to know unequivocally that these posts are not coming from us. We are working diligently to resolve the situation and regain control of our pages as quickly as possible.”
Until access is restored, the company is asking people not to engage with, respond to or share content appearing on the compromised pages. It also cautioned people about messages, links, solicitations or requests for information coming from those accounts.
Mike Hindi lives in Ocean Pines and says he became aware of the posts when it was sent into a group chat he belongs to. Hindi tells CoastTV that while he found it amusing, it raises concerns about how people may view the businesses.
"They can post whatever they want and you know, people on the internet aren't always going to distinguish from you and your brand and your content, and what this person is posting. You know, and they can post anything." Hindi says.
Touch of Italy said updates will be provided through company-controlled websites and other verified communication channels.
The general manager of Ocean City's Touch of Italy restaurant told CoastTV that both pages are run by the same person.
