When I tell people my online identity and business were impersonated, the first questions are always the same:

“Did you make someone mad?”

“Was it an ex?”

“Do you know someone with hacking skills?”

The assumption is always personal drama — not commercial fraud.

Let’s set the record straight: this was not personal. This was professional-level impersonation, done at scale, using automation and scraping tools.I wasn’t “hacked” because someone had a grudge. I was impersonated because my reviews, my online presence, and my domain authority were valuable.

Digital impersonation at scale means using automated tools and data scraping to clone and exploit someone’s online identity, presence, or brand — often for commercial fraud — without direct personal motives or individual grudges.

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What Actually Happened

Over time, I discovered:

• Fake websites quoting my real Google reviews

• Landing pages built with my business name and SEO content

• Lead capture forms pretending to be affiliated with me

• Impersonated Google Maps listings I couldn’t remove

These fake profiles and sites didn’t just steal my data — they confused potential clients, siphoned traffic, and threatened my reputation and livelihood.

At one point, key parts of my online presence suddenly shifted, signaling an attack on my accounts. That was the day I stopped doing any partnerships — my professional world suddenly shrank.

None of these impersonators knew me. They didn’t need to. They scraped everything they could — my Google reviews, Knowledge Panel information, SEO-rich phrases — and used them to funnel traffic for their own gain.

This is called online impersonation at scale, and it’s more common than people realize.

Just last week, a woman at a local mattress store told me her friend went through something almost identical. That’s when I knew — this isn’t rare. It’s just rarely talked about.

How I Fought Back

To stop them, I took aggressive, strategic action:

• Removed my Google Business Profile completely

• Removed WooCommerce from my website to limit attack surfaces

• Avoided logging into any public social handles tied to my name or brand

• Changed my listing address to the FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

• Filed formal reports with:

• IC3.gov (Internet Crime Complaint Center)

• IdentityTheft.gov (FTC Identity Theft)

• Consumer fraud reports with all three major credit bureaus

• Froze my credit across Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax

• Filed multiple police reports for impersonation and ongoing harassment and surveillance attempts have been part of the campaign.

• Personally visited the FBI field office and engaged with assigned agents to escalate the investigation

I didn’t want to give impersonators any new content or data to exploit. So I stripped away everything they could latch onto — even if it meant sacrificing my own online visibility.

Recovery Chaos

When I tried to recover my legacy email, I was directed to multiple spoofed Google pages designed to look legitimate. Then, when requesting two-factor authentication codes, I was flooded with over 20 separate verification codes — but which one was real? This overwhelming barrage seemed intentionally crafted to confuse and trip me up. It was a stark reminder that these attacks are not only invasive but also cunningly relentless, reinforcing why constant vigilance and careful navigation are essential.

Important: When reporting impersonation or identity theft, be mindful of what personal information you share publicly. Avoid posting detailed logs, exact locations, or identifying data that could be exploited by attackers. Share sensitive details only with trusted authorities.

What You Should Do If This Happens to You

If you’re dealing with impersonation or digital identity theft, act quickly. Here’s a checklist to protect yourself and respond effectively:

1. Take Down High-Risk Profiles

• Remove your Google Business listing immediately.

• Hide, delete, or deactivate inactive or vulnerable social media accounts.

• De-index old websites or pages with high scrape potential by requesting removal via Google Search Console or contacting site owners directly.

2. Trigger Listing Removal (If Needed)

• If Google Maps won’t remove a fraudulent listing, change the address to a high-security location to flag it for review by Google’s internal fraud team.

3. File These Reports Immediately

• FTC Identity Theft portal (IdentityTheft.gov)

• Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov)

• Local police or sheriff’s department (obtain a report number for documentation)

• Your state Attorney General’s office (especially if customer fraud is involved)

4. Secure Your Credit and Accounts

• Freeze your credit with all three major bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian.

• Add fraud alerts to your credit profiles to warn creditors of suspicious activity.

• Consider freezing your banking identity with services like ChexSystems.

• Change passwords on all important accounts, especially email and financial services.

• Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) wherever possible for an added layer of security, but avoid using your phone number, as it can be easily spoofed.

• Get new devices if possible and isolate them from compromised ones. Avoid syncing or using iCloud or other cloud services that could reintroduce vulnerabilities.

5. Send Takedown Notices

• Use Whois Lookup to identify hosting providers of fake or impersonating sites.

• File DMCA complaints for stolen reviews, text, or content.

• Report abuse to domain registrars such as GoDaddy, Namecheap, or Cloudflare to request removal.

6. Monitor & Post Warnings

• Set up Google Alerts for your name, domain, and key quote snippets to catch new impersonations quickly.

• Add a Security Notice or Disclaimer on your legitimate website to warn visitors of potential impersonators.

• Consider adding schema or structured data for “authorship” to help search engines identify your official content.

7. Document Everything

• Keep detailed records of all reports, communications, and actions taken.

• This documentation can be crucial for legal action or insurance claims.

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Recognizing and Responding to Impersonation at Scale

I wasn’t targeted because of personal drama. I was targeted because my online presence had value. This wasn’t emotional — it was exploitative.

If this is happening to you, don’t waste time wondering why. Shift into protection mode. Track it, freeze it, and publish your truth.

Impersonation at scale is a modern form of identity theft — and most people won’t recognize it until it happens to them.

If you found this helpful, share this message to raise awareness and help others protect themselves. Together, we can fight back.

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Support the Fight for Digital Justice

My journey through cyberattacks, impersonation, and systemic challenges hasn’t just been a battle of technology — it’s been a fight for truth, dignity, and survival. Facing financial hardship and eviction, I keep going because this story matters — for me and for countless others who face similar invisible battles.

If my work has opened your eyes or inspired you, please consider supporting my mission. Your donation helps cover essential costs like legal fees, cybersecurity tools, and the time I dedicate to documenting these injustices and raising awareness.

Every dollar fuels resilience and amplifies a voice that refuses to be silenced.

Thank you for standing with me.

Up next: How AI is reshaping the hacking landscape and what that means for your digital security — including my own Saturday cyber showdown where I fought back in real time. Stay tuned!

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This Is Part My Cybersecurity Series

After falling victim to identity theft, impersonation, and advanced digital hijacking, I began documenting what no one prepares you for — and how to protect yourself if it happens to you.

Each post builds on the last to uncover how modern threats can infiltrate your blog, your devices, your network — and even your identity.

Read the Full Series:

Part 1: How I Woke Up to My Blog Being Hijacked • Part 2: It Looked Like Instagram — Until It Hijacked My Life • Part 3: How to Tell If Your WiFi Is Hacked (And What to Do About It) • Part 4: Hacked and Locked Out: What Happens When You Can’t Recover Your Accounts • Part 5: You Don’t Have to Go Viral to Be Vulnerable  • Part 6: How It Escalated: From 1¢ Charges to a Hijacked Home Network • Part 7: Two Battles, One Soul: How Cyberattacks and Workplace Retaliation Mirror Each Other • Part 8: No, It Wasn’t a Jealous Ex — It Was Digital Impersonation at Scale • Part 9: How AI Is Changing the Game for Hackers — and What That Means for You • Part 10: Inside the Mind of an AI-Powered Hacker: What Every Engineer Needs to Know

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Rights & Media Policy

All content on SincerelySusye.com is protected by copyright.

Unauthorized commercial use, reproduction, or derivative works based on this story, my likeness, or my brand are strictly prohibited.

SincerelySusye™ is the trademarked identity of Susye Weng-Reeder, LLC, and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.

Impersonation in any form is prohibited.

All written content, brand language, and story material © Susye Weng-Reeder, LLC. All rights reserved.

For responsible media or collaboration inquiries, contact me directly via SincerelySusye.com.

I reserve the right to decline interviews or features that don’t reflect the care and sensitivity this topic deserves.

Thank you for respecting the integrity of my story.

Media Inquiries

If you’re a journalist, podcast host, researcher, or editor interested in this story, please reach out via the contact form at SincerelySusye.com.

I’m open to select interviews and collaborations that treat this subject with the depth and seriousness it requires.

Licensing Terms

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all original written content, images, and brand assets published on SincerelySusye.com are the intellectual property of Susye Weng-Reeder, LLC.

• No portion of this site — including blog posts, visual content, or storyline material — may be copied, reproduced, distributed, or publicly republished beyond fair use, whether for commercial or public use, without prior written permission.

• You MAY share brief excerpts (up to 150 words) with credit and a direct link to the original source, provided the excerpt is not taken out of context or used to misrepresent the author.

• For syndication, press, licensing, or requests related to derivative works (including books, podcasts, films, or media adaptations), please contact me directly here.

Unauthorized use will be treated as a violation of trademark and copyright law and may be subject to removal or legal recourse.

This site is protected under U.S. copyright law and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

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About the Author

Susye Weng-Reeder, known online as SincerelySusye™, is a Google-Verified Internet Personality, published author, and former tech industry insider with experience at Facebook, Apple, and Zoom.

One of the first human AI-indexed influencers — not CGI — she has a digital footprint spanning more than 27.7 million Google search results. Her work is surfaced across AI platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Felo AI, underscoring both the breadth of her online reach and the modern challenge of protecting it.

Susye first gained recognition for her work in intuitive healing, travel writing, and personal transformation. Her online presence shifted dramatically after becoming the target of a sophisticated identity theft and impersonation campaign.

Today, she exposes the rising threat of digital impersonation, surveillance, and cyberattacks — especially against creators, women, and small business owners. Her blog, SincerelySusye.com, documents a real-world case currently under federal cybersecurity review, serving as both a warning and a resource for those navigating this new frontier.