Facebook has 2.9 billion active users, making it by far the largest social media site in the world.
Facebook is also the most hacked social media platform of them all.
There are millions of (already hacked) Facebook usernames and passwords on the dark web, available to criminals.
Have you had your Facebook account targeted? Do you know others who have?
How would you know if your Facebook account was hacked?
- You may receive an email to advise that your password has been changed. If you request a password reset, this could be sent to an address belonging to the hacker. If you’re suddenly logged out of Facebook and your password no longer works, you’ve probably been hacked.
- Your friends start receiving unusual messages from you, that you didn’t write.
- Friend requests have been sent to people you don’t know.
- Your email address or password has changed.
- Your name or birthday has changed.
- Posts or ads have been made that you didn’t create.
What can you do about it?
If you suspect that your account has been compromised, visit the webpage https://www.facebook.com/hacked as soon as possible to secure your account. It is not always easy, or indeed possible, to regain control, but the sooner your act, the higher your change of succeeding. The problem is that the hacker may have changed the email address and/or phone number for the password change link.
Why would someone want to hack my Facebook account?
It could be done for personal reasons – jealousy or spite. But it’s much more likely to be done by large-scale hackers, as the experts explain:
“Attackers want to steal your identity so they can take advantage of trust in your profile and friends,” says Chloe Matthews, a threat intelligence analyst at cybersecurity company F-Secure. “They then use your profile to share malware or perform phishing attacks.”
Paul Bischoff, privacy advocate at Comparitech, explains: ‘Most of us are smart enough not to click on links in emails from people we don’t know. ‘But we’re much more likely to trust a message from a friend on Facebook. ‘That makes it easy for impersonators to trick victims into sending money, handing over passwords, and downloading malware’.
How can I avoid being hacked?
- don’t re-use your password across sites. Use a strong password via a password generator or manager, and make sure your passwords are unique.
- check out HaveIBeenPwned, which will alert you to any compromised credentials so you can change your password if needed
- enable Facebook alerts about unrecognised logins, to help you catch and deal with account takeovers more quickly
- review your list of approved Facebook apps, websites and games regularly via Settings, Apps and Websites, and keep these to a minimum.