Facebook Hacks

Facebook Hacks. It seems like almost every second day I see someone posting on how their Facebook account has been hacked. Sometimes they’ve confused hacking with scraping. Sometimes it is more serious  mayhem such as their business page being taken over and their credit card used to buy ads.

Maybe you’ve seen something like this on your friend’s page:

What do you do if you suspect your Facebook account has been hacked? Get back control of your business page? And how do you avoid Facebook Hacks?

What to do?

First be clear on what has happened. Has someone taken control of your account (i.e. you can no longer login, weird posts) or has someone scraped your account details and used the information to create an account that looks like you?

I have covered Hacked or Scraped before. Scraping is where a hacker copies publicly available pictures and information about you to create an account with your name . The intention is to fool your friends into liking the account and clicking the malicious links posted or sent via Messenger.

Since Facebook wedded Instagram to Messenger there has been an increase of hack attempt where nasty folks copy your Facebook profile picture and your name into an Instagram account which they then use to message your Facebook friends.

If you still have full control of your Facebook account but someone is using your picture and name for another account and contacting your friends you have been scraped not hacked.

You can report fake Facebook account going to their page and clicking the three little dots to the right. That brings up a menu where you Find Support or Report Profile. Get your real friends to report the account too. The more reports the quicker Facebook will deal with the account. You can also fill out a form.
report fake accountFake Instagram accounts can only be reported by the person who is being impersonated. More details about how to report a fake Instagram account here.

What if your Business Page has been taken over?

I checked, and checked and checked and there is nothing in the Facebook Business Help pages that covers this. Nothing. The best you can do is report the new admin account via the method above (three little dots) or fill out the form.

Full Facebook Account Hack

Facebook does have a help page if your personal account has been hacked.

Only Facebook can restore your account(s).

Someone I know had their personal account (and business page) taken over.  He was able to get his personal account back but when he posted about getting his business page back he was swamped with bad advice. Seriously, contact someone with word “hack” in their profile name?

Only Facebook can restore your account. Not bad advice from dubious friends on Facebook.

How do you prevent Facebook Hacks?

Create a unique strong password for each social media account.  I know it’s pain but invest in a password manager like LastPass that can not only save all your password but also create unique strong passwords for you.

Don’t use your Facebook account to log into other services. Many companies offer the convenience of using your Facebook account to login so you don’t have to create another account. Two problems with this. First that company could get hacked and your Facebook login info is out there. Second if your Facebook account gets hacked those hackers now have access to other accounts (like Zoom for example).

Enable Multifactor Authentication. Usually this means receiving a text message when your account has been accessed from a new device or location.  This prevents hackers from Asia or Africa or the former USSR or even in Canada from logging into your account from a different location.

Don’t click on links in Messenger. I view Messenger messengers and links like the Junk email folder. Check it occasionally but be very wary.

Check out the security features/help for your social media accounts. Facebook has a security checkup for your account. Instagram has security tips here.