Whether it’s locking you out of your account and deleting all of your content, posting something inappropriate, or spamming your followers, having your social media accounts hacked is becoming an extremely common event. Sometimes, it’s easy to go in and change your password to kick the hacker out, but what happens when damage is done and you can no longer access your Facebook profile and page?
1. Confirm the hack
If you’re still logged into your Facebook profile, go to Settings > Security and Log In. Here you will be able to see where the last login to your account was from and if any look unfamiliar, cross-check them with any traveling you’ve done to ensure they weren’t from you. If you were logged in somewhere while you were sleeping, in a different country, or on a different device, this is a give away that your account has been hacked.
If you’re unable to log in to your account, this means the person that hacked into your account has changed your password and shows malicious intent. Have a friend log in to their own account and go to your profile. Has your profile photo or name changed? Are there new posts that you didn’t publish? Are friends receiving private messages from your account that you didn’t send?
2. Report the hack to Facebook
Once you’ve noticed that you have been hacked, head to https://www.facebook.com/hacked/ to submit the issue to Facebook and let them know that your account has been compromised. By inputting your email address or phone number used to open your account, Facebook will help you regain access to the account. Facebook will also walk you through different security measures that will help reduce the likelihood of being hacked again in the future.
3. Change all of your passwords
Once you have regained access to your Facebook page, it’s important to change your password right away. Once you’ve completed this step, it’s wise to update your passwords for your other social media accounts and banking information, just to be safe! Anywhere you have linked your Facebook page too is also at greater risk.
4. Check your permissions
Since Facebook can now be linked to other social media accounts, make sure to check what accounts are linked to your Facebook page by going to Settings > Apps and Websites. If there are apps that you no longer use or do not recognize, revoke access to them.
5. Update your log-in access
Now that your password has been updated, switch over to two-factor authentication! Moving forward, whenever there is a login on your account, a code will be sent to the phone number on your account to verify that it is really you trying to log in. If you don’t want to give your phone number, you will also have the option to pre-select a Facebook friend to receive your authentication code on your behalf.
To set up two-factor authentication, go to Settings > Security and Log In.