Woman fears she's being tracked after Fitbit email account compromised

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — You, a co-worker or even your kids might have used the popular activity tracker Fitbit, but a local woman has a warning.

Chelsea Ponzo told Eyewitness News reporter Stephanie Tinoco that her Fitbit was hacked and she's worried someone could track her.

Without much effort, the devices track your travel distance and keep health records and sensitive information, but Channel 9 found dozens of similar complaints by people worried their Fitbit might fall into the wrong hands.

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“I went to log into my Fitbit account and got told this email and password is incorrect,” said Ponzo.

Ponzo believes a hacker changed the email associated with her Fitbit because she got an email saying it had been changed.

"I kind of feel like this my personal space has been violated and I never thought from a fitness tracker I would get that feeling,” said Ponzo.

Tinoco dug through dozens of similar reports on Fitbit's Facebook page from the last two weeks.

Ponzo said she turned to Channel 9 after asking the company for help and not getting very far.

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A Fitbit spokesperson told Tinoco that Fitbit emails or servers were not hacked, but Ponzo's case is a common account takeover attempt, meaning someone successfully steals usernames and passwords from another device using the customer's warranty with the intention to resell it.

“Over the last couple of years I have seen some people complaining about people compromising their accounts,” said Johnathan Frisk, with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Frisk said the more details you put on your athletic device may put you at a higher risk.

"The safest thing to do is put the bare minimum on it," he said.

Fitbit said it is working to address customer concerns in a timely manner and most of the warranty replacement attempts are caught by its fraud management department.

Cox Media Group