If you’re concerned that your Facebook account has been hacked, here are some tips to help you identify the signs and prevent them from happening: -Check to see if your account is missing any posts or messages. If it is, you may need to contact Facebook to update your account information. -Check to see if any of your photos or videos have been deleted. If they have, you may need to contact Facebook to get them back. -Check to see if any of your friends’ accounts have been hacked. If they have, you may want to reach out to them for help in restoring their data.
Has Your Facebook Account Been Hacked?
If you notice any of the following changes on your account, it may be time to take action: -Your friends list starts receiving suspicious messages with malicious links and ads asking them to buy stuff. -Links with malware start appearing in your email inboxes. -Your profile information (name, occupation, website) starts being changed. -Your email address, phone number, and Facebook password start being changed. ..
- If you notice that your Facebook account is not showing up in your notifications, or if you don’t see your posts or updates from your friends, it’s likely that someone else has access to your account. To check if this is the case, go to Facebook and look for the blue “Notifications” tab on the top left corner of the screen. If there’s no tab, then your account is probably still active and you can continue using it as normal.
- If you see a message from a scammers asking for money in order to unlock your Facebook account, this is a sign that they have been successful in getting hold of your social media account. To protect yourself from this type of scam, be sure to never give out personal information such as credit card numbers or other personal information that could be used to steal money from you. Instead, always use two-factor authentication (2FA) on all of your accounts so that unauthorized people cannot access them without having first received an authentication code from you.
Check Your Activity Log on Facebook
If you’re not sure if your account was hacked, you should check your activity log on Facebook. To do that, follow the steps below.
If you see any unrecognized logins on the list, there’s a chance that you’ve been hacked. To avoid the loss of any sensitive information, next to the active session from the list that you don’t recognize, select Log out. This will end an active session and thus save you from a hacking attempt on that device.
To further secure your account, you can select the Secure Account option right next to it. Facebook will run a diagnostic on your account and take you through the steps of securing it. ..
Check Your Payment History on Facebook
If you’re worried that someone else may be accessing your Facebook account, you can check your purchase history to see if anything suspicious happened. If you ever bought something through Facebook or used ads to pay for services, and have your credit card information stored on the site, that could make it easier for hackers to access your account. ..
-Make sure your credit card information is safe from prying eyes by using both mobile and desktop apps.
On mobile, follow the path Settings & privacy > Payments. Select Facebook Pay and check your payment activity for any fraudulent purchases.
To see all of your Facebook Pay purchases, follow the path Settings & privacy > Settings > Facebook Pay. Under Activity, select See all. You can also check your Ad payments in the same section to make sure there isn’t any suspicious activity there. ..
Other Signs of a Hacked Account to Watch Out For
If you notice any of the following changes in your account, it may be indicative of a hack: unauthorized access to your account, unusual activity on your account, or messages you didn’t send. ..
Your name, birthday, hometown, or any other personal details on your Facebook page have been changed. Someone sent out friend requests in your name to Facebook users you don’t know. Someone sent out messages from your account that you don’t recognize. New posts appearing on your timeline that you didn’t post. You received an email from Facebook with the login alert that you don’t recognize or an email stating you asked to change password.
If you notice any of the following signs that your Facebook account has been hacked, take steps to secure your account and report the incident to Facebook: -Your profile is displaying incorrect information or unauthorized posts -You’re receiving unexpected messages from people you don’t know -Your password has been changed without your consent ..
How to Inform Facebook About a Hacking Attempt
If you believe that your Facebook account has been compromised, please immediately notify Facebook. If you do so in a timely manner, you may avoid having to go through a time-consuming process of account recovery. Facebook is interested in keeping the site secure and safe for all users, and they usually respond to such alerts quickly. ..
To report a problem on Facebook, open the Menu in the upper-right corner of the screen and follow the path Help & support > Report a problem.
If you submit a report, you can view updates to your claim through your Facebook notifications or in your Support Inbox. ..
If you’re having trouble logging in to your Facebook account, you can try using the official Twitter account. This is a good option if you’ve been locked out of your account. ..
How to Prevent Your Facebook Account From Being Hacked
- Make sure you have a strong password.
- Use a secure browser extension like 1Password or Google Authenticator.
- Keep your Facebook account locked down at all times.
To strengthen your Facebook security, follow these steps:
- Settings & privacy > Settings > Security and login.
- In the Security section, enable Two-factor authentication (2FA) and Setting up extra security.
- If someone tries to access your account from a device that’s not yours, they’ll get an alert telling them to try again later.
Use a password manager to keep your sensitive personal data safe. A password manager will create unique passwords for Facebook and any other social media account that you’re using, and store them in an encrypted piece of software, so that you don’t have to memorize them. Stay vigilant online & when browsing Facebook. It goes without saying that you should be careful when browsing the internet and Facebook especially. Some things you should avoid are clicking on any suspicious pop-up ads, following spam links, responding to phishing attempts, and entering your credit card info on fake websites that are made to look like Facebook. ..
What to Do If You’ve Been Hacked
If your Facebook account has been hacked, don’t be too quick to give up. There are still some things you can do to try and recover your account. Even if that doesn’t work, you can still use Facebook with a new account. ..
