Hacker messes with Grovetown woman’s fridge, washer and dryer

GROVETOWN, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A Grovetown woman is a victim of a hacking crime – through her smart appliances.

According to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the victim reported that someone had hacked into her home computer and turned off her surveillance cameras, rendering them useless on Nov. 22.

The victim said the unknown person has also hacked into her internet-connected refrigerator to defrost it and into the washer and dryer, turning them on.

The victim told deputies she is not sure who is responsible but stated she has thousands of screenshots with proof of the unwanted actions.

Hacking through your smart appliances is a new and unusual category of crime.

There have been reports of hacking home-network routers, connected multimedia centers, televisions, and refrigerators according to the Proofpoint security firm.

As technological advances continue to increase, so will crimes that involve smart appliances.

“Many of these devices are poorly protected at best and consumers have virtually no way to detect or fix infections when they do occur,” CNBC quoted Proofpoint Information Security General Manager David Knight.

Copyright 2022 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.