Jews in the D
JUNE 25 • 2020 | 27
Social Media
Nightmare
A Southfi
eld dermatologist
was hacked.
D
r. Emily Levin, a
Southfield dermatol-
ogist, couldn’
t figure
out why her cell phone kept
vibrating during a recent
patient visit. After the appoint-
ment, she grabbed the phone
and saw she had several missed
calls and messages. Each one
informed her of a disturb-
ing post found on the office
Facebook and Instagram pages.
Someone hacked the social
media pages of Northwest
Dermatology Group and
posted a racially insensitive
message, making it look like
it came from the doctor’
s
office. The post was made on
Instagram, and simultaneous-
ly appeared on the practice’
s
Facebook page.
It said, “We get it. We
understand you people. Can
we move on, please? This is
draining.
”
Levin also received an email
from Instagram, letting her
know her password had been
changed. A separate email
revealed the identity of the per-
son who changed the account.
She recognized the name: a
former employee.
The doctor immediately
removed the posts, changed
the password and contacted
local and federal authorities.
An investigation is under way,
and a suspect identified.
Although the posts were
quickly deleted, screenshots
were shared hundreds of times.
Dr. Levin, along with her part-
ner, Dr. Ross Brothers, received
death and bomb threats, and
ominous messages promising
the destruction of the practice.
Levin wrote a letter to
patients, stating in part, “If
you saw the false posts, please
know that it wasn’
t us; we don’
t
stand for hate speech or hate
of any kind. We certainly don’
t
stand for racism.
”
The office was flooded with
calls. Patients voiced concern
and support.
“My staff was overwhelmed
and devastated,
” said Levin.
“This is not a reflection of who
we are. We’
ve always stood for
social justice. We have been
serving the black community
and other minority communi-
ties for over 60 years, and we
will continue to serve [them].
”
In retrospect, Levin said the
office lacked proper security
policies and procedures, which
led to the cyber-attack.
“We sincerely apologize to
our community, our staff and
our patients for that,
” she said.
“Everyone has been angered
and devastated by this incident,
and we are working to ensure
this will never will happen
again...
“We hope that others can
learn a few lessons from this
scenario. People need to real-
ize how critical it is to have
proper security, policies and
procedures in place. We also
hope that people will investi-
gate what is true before sharing
or spreading something that
could be harmful to anyone in
your community. It’
s crazy how
one click of a button can harm
a 60-year reputation.
”
JEN LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Dr. Emily Levin
COURTESY OF DR. EMILY LEVIN
DFAA: 248-672-3207 DetroitFAA.com
DetroitFineArtAppraisals@gmail.com
Upscale Consignment & Auction House
too
ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE,
FINEART, HOME DECOR & LIGHTING
WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID19 GUIDELINES & RESTRICTIONS
Free
preliminary in
store appraisal
12-4pm
with Terri
NOW ACCEPTING CONSIGNMENTS
FOR END OF THE SUMMER AUCTION
SUMMER STORE HOURS
TUES–SAT Noon–5pm | MON closed
SUN and evenings by appointment only
3325 Orchard Lake Rd, Keego Harbor, MI
248-481-8884
WWW.LESHOPPETOO.COM
Now conducting mid-century modern estate sales
Let our experienced team handle
all of your estate needs:
Hands free-hassle free estate sales
Call Leslie Weisberg today for a free consultation
248.709.9648
changinghandsestates.com
WE OFFER
CONSIGNMENT
& AUCTION
SOLUTIONS FOR
HIGH VALUE ITEMS