Do you fear someone has access to your Facebook account? Maybe you noticed some suspicious activities in your account like your personal information changing or friend requests and messages you didn’t send going out. If compromised, hackers can use the account for several malicious purposes. Plus, your other accounts linked to Facebook can be in trouble, too.
In this post, you will discover the signs that will let you know if your Facebook account has been hacked. You will also learn the steps you can take to ensure you don’t encounter such threats again in the future.
How to Tell if Your Facebook Account Has Been Hacked
Follow the steps below to check if someone else logged into your account without your consent:
On Your Mobile Phone
- Open the Facebook app on your phone and select the three vertical lines at the bottom-right corner of your screen.
- Select Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings from the drop-down menu.
- On the Accounts Centre, tap Password and Security. This will lead you to another page where you must select Password and Security again.
- Tap on Where you’re logged in.
- Select your Facebook account.
- You will be led to your Account login activity page, where you can see all the devices logged into your account. If you notice a device you can’t recognize, tap on the arrow beside the device’s name.
- Select Secure Account and follow the Facebook guide.
- You can also click Select Devices to log out and tap Log Out to stop any activity on your Facebook account on an unknown device.
On Your PC
- Login to your Facebook account on your desktop browser and click on your profile icon in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings & Privacy, then tap Settings.
- Locate Meta Accounts Center and scroll down the page until you see Password and Security. Click on it.
- Scroll down the page till you see Where you’re logged in, and select it..
- You will see an Accounts section where you have to select your Facebook account.
- On the next page, you will see the list of devices logged into your account, including the one you are currently using. Carefully go through the list and check for any unfamiliar devices or logins from strange locations.
- If you see an unknown device, click Select Devices to log out.
- Choose the unknown devices and tap Log Out. You will then see a prompt to select Log Out again.
Apart from this method, there are some additional activities you may notice on your Facebook that can tell you that your account got hacked.
Other Signs that Your Facebook Account Got Hacked
Here are some other ways you can recognize that your account has been breached:
1. Your Personal Information was Changed
Hackers target personal information like your name, profile picture, date of birth, email address, or even location. They change these details so you will be locked out of your account in a scheme popularly known as an account takeover attack.
So, if you go to your Facebook account’s settings and notice your personal information differs from what you originally entered, chances are your account’s safety has been compromised.
2. You Got Alerts about Login Attempts
If you’ve enabled your security alerts, you will receive notifications if anyone tries logging into your account. In this case, the snooper knows your email address or phone number and tries different ways to guess your password. Of course, their primary aim is to steal your data.
If you receive multiple notifications about such login attempts in a short interval, this strongly indicates that your account is about to get hacked.
3. You Notice an Increase in Suspicious Messages and Emails
If you are experiencing this situation, your account has already been hacked. You will notice an increase in suspicious emails or messages from your account. Hackers send malicious messages and links to your Facebook friends from your account to create potential victims.
For instance, if you go through your messages and see a text sent to your family member that you don’t remember sending, that’s probably the work of a hacker impersonating you.
4. You Observe Unfamiliar Activities
Just like seeing suspicious messages and emails, there are other activities you may notice that show that a hacker has taken control of your account. They can perform activities such as friend requests you didn’t accept or send, content on your timeline you didn’t post, and likes and comments on people’s posts.
Once you observe such strange occurrences on your account, you should immediately notify people contacted by the hacker and delete any shared posts.
5. You Can’t Log Into Your Account
As mentioned earlier, criminals can access your account and change your email address and password. Once they do that, you won’t be able to log in again, and they will have full control over your information and friend group.
The hackers will then use your account to commit fraud or scam people connected to you, putting your identity at risk.
6. You Get Alerts from Your Family and/or Friends
Sometimes, your friends and family may notice messages or posts that are unlike you and inform you. And if you are not going through a personality change, that’s a telling sign that someone else is operating your account.
The hacker may send spam messages, such as fake competitions and offers, or convince your friend or family member to transfer money to them. They may even send malicious links that, if clicked on, grant the hackers access to your friend or family account.
7. You See a Clone of Your Facebook Account
In certain cases, hackers do not use your account for malicious activities. Instead, they steal your information and create a new profile that looks exactly like yours. This account will have the same profile picture, birth date, and other relevant information. Then, they send friend requests to your friends, family, or colleagues.
If your people accept this friend request, the hacker can start messaging them, saying that this is your new account, and you’re in trouble and need financial help from them.
What Can I Do If My Facebook Account Got Hacked?
Here’s what you should do if you discover your Facebook account has been hacked:
Inform Your Contacts
You have to warn your contacts about this hack and tell them to ignore any message or strange posts that claim to be from you. Also, tell them not to click on suspicious links or activities that seem like red flags. That way, you can rest assured that they won’t fall victim to any fraudulent act planned by the hacker.
Change Your Account’s Password
You also need to change your Facebook account password. You can do so by following the steps below:
- Go to the Facebook menu page and select Settings & privacy.
- Tap Settings.
- Under Meta Accounts Centre, select Password and Security.
- Select Password and Security again.
- On the next page that appears, select Change password and tap on your Facebook account.
- Type your current password and enter the new password you want to change it to. You will enter the new password again to confirm that what you typed was correct.
- If the snooper changes your password, you must click on Forgot your password? to change it. Follow the instructions sent to you via email or SMS to reset your credentials.
Make sure you change your password to a strong one that is different from what you use on your other online accounts. If you use the old password on your other accounts, consider changing it, as hackers may use this knowledge to play with those accounts.
Contact Facebook
Another thing you have to do is to report the hack immediately to Facebook so that they can investigate the data breach. Go to facebook.com/hacked and select My account is compromised to begin the reporting process.
How Can I Prevent My Facebook Account from Getting Hacked?
In this digital age, taking extra steps to secure all your online accounts should be your top priority. Below are some steps you can take to make your Facebook account less vulnerable to hacks:
1. Modify the Privacy Settings
You can reduce your visibility to outsiders by changing your profile settings from Public/Everyone to just your Friends of friends, Friends, or Only me. That way, you can control who can view your Facebook profile.
To access this setting, go to the Setting & privacy page. Click Settings and scroll down until you see Audience and Visibility. Select How people find and contact you.
On this page, you can select who can search for your name and contact you, allowing you to eliminate unnecessary attention on your Facebook account. You can adjust settings like who can send you friend requests and Who Facebook can suggest your profile to.
You can also restrict your content exposure to the public, meaning that not everyone can see your Facebook posts, including the ones you were tagged in. To do this, visit your Settings & privacy page and go to Settings. Like above, locate Audience and Visibility, but select Posts this time.
If you reduce your posts’ visibility, you will be able to minimize the opportunity for scammers to get hold of your public information and threaten your digital life. Additionally, ensure that you go through any posts you publish on your account, even if they are only public to your friends. That way, you can be sure you didn’t publish sensitive information on your timeline.
2. Use a Strong Password
A password is the key to your Facebook account. Once an outsider has it, they can access all of your information. We recommend creating a strong password using a combination of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols to avoid such occurrences. You can even use the ExtremeVPN password generator to create difficult, hard-to-breach passwords.
Once you’ve created the password, you must check the websites, games, and apps you logged into with your Facebook account. To do this, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings. Scroll down until you see Your activity and select Apps and Websites. There, you can see a full list of all the websites linked to your Facebook account.
If you want to disconnect any of the connected apps, games, or websites, all you have to do is tap on the arrow beside the site’s name and select Remove. You can also remove only specific information about yourself from the website.
3. Enable Two-factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication ensures that no one can log on to your account without you getting notified. If an unknown device tries logging in, Facebook will request a code, which will be sent only to your device.
To set this up, go to Settings & Privacy, then Settings. Select Password and Security and scroll down till you see Two-factor authentication. You may be requested to log into your account again before completing this step.
Here, you can select your preferred authentication method, which is either by text message, authentication app, or security key.
4. Turn on Security Alerts
This setting lets Facebook inform you anytime someone logs into your account from a device you don’t use regularly. If you want to enable this feature, go to Security & Privacy, then tap Settings.
Scroll down your screen until you see Setting up extra security and select Get alerts about unrecognized logins. You can now choose between receiving the alerts through your Facebook notifications or email.
5. Be Privacy Oriented
Whenever you are browsing through posts on Facebook, you have to be extra careful so that you won’t put your private life at risk. Here are some tips you can follow to ensure you remain private online:
- Before you click on any link or attachment sent to you, ensure it is reliable. Don’t rush into clicking on any random link, as you don’t know if it will lead you to a fake phishing site with the sole aim of stealing your data or compromising your device.
- Double-check your friend list and the pages you follow. If you feel someone on your friend list is suspicious, you can remove the person.
- Exercise caution when communicating with unfamiliar people or individuals with little to no common connections. Try not to share any of your personal information with them until you are sure they are 100% trustworthy.
- If your Facebook frequently logs off by itself when browsing, that’s a sign that someone has access to your account.
- Go through your messages or comments to see if there are writings or purchases you don’t remember. An intruder might have performed these acts.
As you know, Facebook gathers the personal information of all its users. So, if you don’t want your info to be part of their record, you can deactivate or delete your Facebook and Messenger accounts.
6. Get a Reliable VPN
As the name implies, a VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a sure bet for a private network that no outsider can access. This amazing tool encrypts your network traffic and masks your IP address, ensuring no snooper can access your activity or data. Even if you are connected to public WiFi, a VPN significantly improves your security, making this threat hotspot a haven.
While there are many free VPNs available, always opt for a premium, high-quality service. Most free services can compromise your safety. A VPN provider like ExtremeVPN has advanced security features that ensure your browsing activity remains private, even when you experience a network disruption.
In addition to its impeccable service, ExtremeVPN offers a native app for multiple devices. Plus, you can connect up to 10 devices to one account. Get started with ExtremeVPN and take advantage of its 30-day money-back guarantee today.
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