A HELENSBURGH couple have spoken of the "damaging" and "stressful" impact of a comprehensive cyber attack on their business which cut them off from customers.

Mairi and Stephen Clayton, of Tweedie and Leather Guild, are still fighting to restore access to their social media after the attack - and they have now issued a warning to other small business owners.

They said their "nightmare" began in mid-August when a data protection warning alerted that one of their passwords was for sale on the so-called "dark web".

Ms Clayton said: "I was sceptical, but checked, recognised the password and tried to change the Facebook password.

“However, by that time the hacker had already changed the password and I couldn’t get access. Then our profile picture changed and Facebook disabled the account but still the hacker went to work.

“At the same time our bank cyber security department reported foiled attempts to use my card in South Africa and Dubai.”

Screen grab from August showing a change to their accountsScreen grab from August showing a change to their accounts (Image: Supplied)

They said every social media platform was hacked, including unconnected personal accounts traced through card payment of "boost" posts.

The couple started dealing with Facebook to try to get their situation resolved. But they reported they have had no success.

Mr Clayton told the social media platform: "We were hacked about the 17th-21st August when our profile picture changed and an unknown name appeared (see the screen grab attached).

“We immediately tried to report this but found every time we attempted to login through any help centre link or URL a blocking pop-up appeared preventing us from proceeding.

“My wife, Mairi, and a colleague post about our products and business events for both Leather Guild (our wholesale brand) and Tweedie (our retail store). The posts are normally paid-for boosts and approved by Meta.”

The business has continued to struggle getting control of their accounts againThe business has continued to struggle getting control of their accounts again (Image: Supplied)

A total of five Facebook pages were disabled - three business and their own two personal pages. It also affected their Instagram and Messenger accounts.

Mr Clayton said: "This is very damaging for a small business like ours.

"Not only are we locked out from our customer base but for a few days there was a warning on opening our Facebook page that the business was connected to illegal activity, drugs, although thankfully this now seems to have disappeared.

"We have now passed the 30-day promised deadline for Facebook to rectify this and get us back into our social media and we are still mired in this distressing and damaging situation.”

Mr Clayton's wife added: “This has been a very stressful time and we can’t seem to see the end of it.

"We have followed all the steps suggested by Facebook to change our passwords but we are blocked every time and can’t seem to make any progress.

“We would warn all small businesses to be very careful and to be sure that they regularly change all their passwords. I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through this.”

The couple's shop on West Clyde Street remains open and they can still be contacted there or by phone.

The Advertiser has contacted Meta for comment.