A BASINGSTOKE business owner has been forced to start from scratch after losing everything overnight when both her Facebook and Instagram accounts were hacked.

Owner of catering firm Mannicitas, Mannie Fidgett-Fonseca, is left feeling unsure how to restart after losing five years of work she spent building up her social media presence. 

On September 3 Mannie recieved a notification to say someone had signed into her social media accounts located in Birmingham, but she thought nothing of it. Until she recieved a message from a friend confirming her worst nightmares that she had been hacked. 

Within minutes, all social media posts that had been previously uploaded by Mannicitas on its accounts were dissapearing, she lost thousands of followers and more than 100 reviews on Facebook.  

Mannie discovered that she had been subject to a cyber attack and all five of her seperate email accounts had been compromised. 

Mannie said: "I had just got to a point where business was flowing well and now it has all just dissapeared. I am very cautious of using social media for interaction with my customers moving forward, so I'm going to find different ways that my customers can get in contact with me instead." 

Basingstoke Gazette: Owner of Mannicitas, Mannie Fidgett-Fonseca. Owner of Mannicitas, Mannie Fidgett-Fonseca. (Image: Mannicitas)

Due to struggling to get hold of Instagram and Facebook Mannie contacted the Gazette to try and find out if anyone else has been subject to something similiar, and whether they managed to overcome this issue. 

For the time being Mannie has set up a new Facebook and Instagram account for her business, @mannicitascatering. 

If you have been through a similiar issue and know how to help contact info@mannicitas.com or 07807861317.