It is rare that the silent struggle of thousands upon thousands of Facebook users whose accounts were hacked beyond major breaches makes headlines. Facebook doesn’t offer much beyond a wall of silence. Is your account safe?
You should act quickly if you suspect your password or account has been compromised. Facebook hackers can lock you out and harass your family and friends. Get your Facebook account back now! We will show you how.
How to find out if your Facebook account was hacked
How can you tell if your Facebook account has been hacked A trace will be left if a hacker gains access to your account.
Log in to your Facebook account. Click the Arrowhead at the top right of the Account menu. Select Privacy > Settings, then go to Security. Login.
You’ll find a list of devices that you have logged into Facebook most recently and the time they were active at the top.
To expand the list, click See More and to review older sessions.
You may also notice other signs that your account has been hacked:
- A third party has modified your personal data including your password and email address. You can view your Contact information within Settings >General. Click the appropriate field to expand it. Under Settings >Mobile, you can view all the phone numbers associated to your account.
- Your account was not notified of friend requests or private messages. Settings: Go to My Facebook Information > Access your Information to review the details.
- You have posts on your timeline that you did not add or permit. Click your profile picture at the top of the page to view your timeline. If you don’t see it there click the hamburger icon. Your picture should appear in the top left.
We recommend that you change the logins for other apps, such as Spotify or Instagram. You can also tighten your Facebook security to protect these accounts.
Below are some suggestions to help you if you see any suspicious activity in your logins.
How to deal with a Facebook account hacker
Here are the steps to take if you believe your account has been compromised.
If your hacker on Facebook has not changed your password, it’s possible to be lucky! You should immediately change your password after you log out from suspicious sessions. This is not a good idea. Step 1b is recommended if it is too late.
Scroll down to Security and Login. Click Change password. Enter your password and create a strong password. Click Save changes.
Next, you will see a Password changed confirmation window. This allows you Review your devices and Stay logged in. Select the first option and click continue. This didn’t work for me, but it was nice to have this reminder.
Log out of Facebook Sessions
After changing your password scroll back to Where you’re Logged in. After expanding the list, click the three vertical dots to Log out each session or the Logout Of All Sessions button in the bottom-right.
Only do this if you are certain you can log in again.
Logging out should be done completely provided that your security settings and contact information are current. Logging out completely is not a good idea. Log out of any sessions that look suspicious if you are unsure.
Protect Your Account
You can also choose to mark individual sessions as You. A pop-up will appear displaying details about the session.
If you are unable to identify the device and location, click Secure account. To start an automated process to secure your account, click Get Started
The next screen summarizes each step. Click Continue.
Once you are done, you will be sent back to the feed. Continue to Step 3 if you believe your account was compromised.
1b. Reset Your Facebook Password
You must act fast if a hacker has changed your password. You can regain access. You will find a Forgot password? the link under the Facebook login.
This will allow you to retrieve your password in multiple ways. You will first need to Find your Account. You have two options: enter your email address or secondary email address that you used to register on Facebook, and then add your phone number.
Facebook will allow you to reset your password if it can locate your account.
You should have received an email message from the original address if your email address was changed by the hacker. This message contains a link that allows you to reverse the hacker’s actions and protect your account.
Facebook offered to send me a recovery code via email to any email address I had added to my account. Multiple backup email addresses are highly recommended. You must ensure that all accounts are secure. This includes using strong passwords and enabling two-factor authentication.
Use the If you don’t have access to them, link. Facebook will ask you how they can reach your location to verify your identity. This could take some time.
Step 2 if you suspect that the Facebook hacker has abused your account.
2. Report the Facebook Hack
If your account wasn’t simply hacked, but is sending out ads and spam to your friends, you must report it as compromised to Facebook using Facebook.com/hacked/.
This can be used if you are unable to access your account due to a phishing attack. Facebook can help you gain access to your account.
3. Remove Suspicious Applications
It’s often not an evil person who randomly hacks your account. It could be that you have allowed a malicious Facebook app to access your account and hijack it.
Go to Settings > Websites and review the list. To expand the Active list, click View More and then confirm that you want to “delete photos, events, or posts from your timeline” using these sources.
We recommend that you delete all Expired websites and apps.
You can also click the View link to edit the permissions of the app. This includes options such as app visibility, access your personal information and actions it may take.
4. Do damage control
After you have done everything possible to restore control of your Facebook account, and prevented further damage, tell your family and friends about the situation.
This is done to protect your account from being hacked. Contact your Facebook friends via email or have a mutual friend notify them via Facebook if you are unable to access your account.
Enhancing Facebook’s Privacy & Security Settings
We recommend that you check your Facebook settings once you have regained control.
- You can update your contact information under Settings >General. Add additional email addresses and mobile numbers to which you have access. You can also remove any that you don’t have access to.
- To add extra security, go to Security > Login. You can also set up alerts about unrecognized logins and two-factor authentication. Additionally, you can choose from three to five trusted friends to help you recover your account if you are locked out.
- Choose the privacy settings that you are comfortable with under Settings > Privacy. We recommend that only your friends can see your future posts, and that you limit the visibility of posts from the past.
Two-factor authentication is the most important security feature that you can set up on any account. We recommend you enable two-factor authentication for any social accounts which offer this feature. You can use Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator with Facebook.
How can you keep your Facebook account safe?
After you are hacked, it is necessary to reflect on all your mistakes. Hopefully, they won’t happen again.
Learn how hackers can target your privacy and how you can protect yourself from them. Hackers are constantly evolving so you need to be aware of their tactics.
