Computer hacker fakes Navy Seal mom's suicide

Debbie Lee worked for three years following her son’s death in Iraq to build an organization to honor him and to help America’s troops and their families.

But it took only a matter of minutes for a computer hacker to try to discredit her and cripple the organization the Surprise woman founded — America’s Mightiest Warriors.

Lee first realized something was amiss on Aug. 21 after receiving several text messages about a new password for her Facebook profile.

She didn’t provide a password, but then she began getting phone calls, particularly from the best friend of her son Marc, who in 2006 at the age of 28 became the first Navy Seal officer to die in the war.

"He asked where I was at, and told me not to do anything drastic," she said. "I was clueless for a second because I didn’t know what he was talking about."

She also received a phone call from a neighbor who said Surprise police cars were outside of her home with their guns drawn. Police spokesman Mark Ortega said officers were sent out to the house, after family members couldn’t reach Lee, who was on a camping trip.

Surprise police are investigating the incident, Ortega said.

When she finally checked her Facebook page, Lee said she couldn’t believe all of the messages the hacker wrote.

One read: "Goodbye everyone, I love you all. I don’t want a funeral or memorial. I want it to be like I never existed the way that I wish it was."

Another: "I realized that my life is a lie and that my only friend is the handgun in the back of my closet."

Lee said "only a very sick person would go to great lengths to do something like this. I just can’t believe it."

"Someone is trying to discredit everything that I’ve done," she said.

Besides Facebook, Lee said the computer hacker also broke into her Microsoft network e-mail, which had more than 2,100 contacts for America’s Mightiest Warrior. A number of the contacts, Lee said, included White House officials.

"It took me three years at least to get all of this information, now it’s been compromised and that really makes me sad," she said

"America’s Mightiest Warrior" Web site hasn’t been tampered with, Lee said, and precautions are being taken to make sure it isn’t.

"This has totally turned my whole world upside down," she said. "It’s almost like I’m disabled and that takes me five or six times longer to do what I need to do, but it’s not going to stop me from the mission I have at hand."

Lee said she’ll continue with her speaking engagements for the organization.

"I know that Marc wouldn’t want to me stop because of something like this, so I just have to keep pushing through it, but it’s still sad that someone would want to sabotage me," she said.