Facebook is tempting, not only for the users but for hackers as well. The popularity graph of Facebook is continuously rising and FB is consistently improving its security features, but hackers know the breaching tricks which can break even z-black security. Therefore, every user must understand hacking and its related aspects to deal with hacked FB account and the encounter-effects.
Here we have made an attempt to aware you of causes, solutions, and precautions for defeating FB hacking.
Change in FB email or
The Facebook password is changed
Facebook account hacked and locked
The name or birth date is change
The privacy policies are changed
Some unknown people have become your FB friend without your knowledge
Friend requests have been sent from your account
If some random posts are posted from your account
Some unknown messages have been sent from your account then the Facebook messenger is also hacked
If you get such indications, you need to pay immediate attention and begin the protection course. Do not wait for anything and change your password. If you are not able to access the account, you need to read this.
Well, this could be a personal grudge or just hackers are waiting for a loophole to steal your data. But in the majority, the hacking is something not personal but pre-planned shenanigans to steal or misuse your data.
Personification can be the other reason for the hacking. So, the hacker may use your name or identity to perform unethical activities.
In a nutshell, whatever the reason is, hacking is painful for the user as it is one kind of cyber crimes.
Phishing: This is the most common way, using which most of the FB accounts are hacked. It is usually done by creating a portal that exactly looks like an FB login page and records your login credentials. This way your login details are stolen.
Keylogging: Key Logging is a technique with which your account is hacked by cybercriminals. The key logger records your keystroke hence gain unauthorized access to your passport and private information.
Stored password: Stored password feature is used to remember the passwords. It is a shortcut to login without typing login credentials every time you sign in. If you sign-in to a public computer or device, someone else can use the stored password to access your account unethically.
Side jacking: It is the way of hacking that is done on public wireless networks. To sidejack a website the hackers steal the information by using a packet sniffer to attain the unencrypted cookies and grant access to a website.
To find out that whether your account is compromised or not, you need to dig deep into traces that the hacker has left. For this:
First login to your FB account
Click on the downward arrow to from the top-right corner
From the menu, select Settings and go to Security and login
On the top of the page, you will see the devices that you recently used to log in
If you see an unknown device, it is the sign of a compromised account.
As soon as you realize that your Facebook account hacked, you have to act immediately so as to avoid damage as possible as you can. There are some steps that needs to taken to discover and recover a hacked Facebook account, let’s have a look:
Some of the time, it may look like a hack but in actual it is not. So the very first step is to confirm the hacking incident and not just start acting out of anxiety. Maybe you simply forgot to log out or may be someone in your family scrolled through your news feed. So that would not be considered a hack and you can simply change the FB password or add a screen lock to your phone.
You can even go to ‘Settings’ and under ‘Security and Log in’, check the last devices that you logged in from and the time of your logins. This will give you a clear idea if you are in the safe zone or not.
If the hacker has not yet changed your password, you are lucky because rescuing your account is much easier in this case. Just change your facebook password, do some changes in security settings and you are all good to go. So, to change the password on a hacked FB account, follow the steps given here below:
Sign in to your Facebook account
From the Settings menu, access the “Security and login” option.
Now under “login”, click Change password
Type the current password and then enter a new strong password
Click Save Changes
Now to make sure you log out from all other devices you are logged in to and for this access “Where you’re logged in”
Or click Log out of all sessions
This is as important as changing Facebook’s password, the reason being, hackers will never want you to reset your FB profile’s password and for that they will even try to hack your email. So even if the hacker has got your FB password, don’t let them weaken you and immediately secure your email’s password by changing it or whatever other means are available. The process of changing the email password may vary for each email service.
If your password is no more effective, you need to reset your Facebook password. Make sure you do it as soon as you got to know about hacking. For this:
First log-in to your Forgot your password or forgotten account
Now, find your account, provide the phone number or email address associated with your account and click ‘Search’.
After this, you need to choose one option under from:
“Use my Google account”
“Send code via email”
OR
Send code via SMS
Choose the suitable option. Verify your identity either by logging in to Google account or providing the verification code.
Next, create a new password and re-type to confirm it.
If you aren’t able to log in, it means the hacker has changed your password and this is something serious. You can talk to one of your FB friends about your recent activity on Facebook, if your profile picture or name changed, if your friends got deleted or if your friends have been receiving private messages, or the hackers have contacted any of your friends.
If hacking is the reason due to which you are not able to access your FB account, report this to Facebook and get the recovery done:
Open the Hacked Facebook account page and click on My Account is Compromised.
Provide the phone number or email address associated with your account and click Search.
Enter the current password ( the password you were using before hacking) and click Continue
Select one option for “Firstly, can you tell us what’s happening?” and click ‘Continue’.
Now click on “Get Started” and Facebook will help you secure your account.
Now, you will see the changes that have been recently made to your account, press ‘Continue’ to proceed.
Now create a new password and type it again to confirm, press ‘Continue’.
You need to inform your personal contacts regarding the hack, so that they can help you recover by reporting the account. In addition, the hackers are likely to post crazy stuff on your timeline so alert your friends not to click anything as it can be spam. Also, refrain them from sending private messages to avoid the breach of your personal information.
Hackers may pose as you and ask your friends and family for personal information such as bank PIN, passwords, cash or other sensitive details. So make sure to warn all your close friends and family about this hacking incident and tell them to secure their account too.
Facebook lets you download different apps using your Facebook account. But it is important to remove the app that you do not use or you don’t recognize. Many of the apps access your personal information, so you must ensure not to allow access to your personal information. So, to remove the unwanted application, follow the steps given here:
Click on the down from the top right corner of your screen
Access Settings options
Now access the Apps and Websites option
Select the box next to the app that you want to delete and click Remove
Again tap Remove in the confirmation option. You can also delete the data posted by the app for you.
If you don’t want to delete the app, but limit its access to your data, you can use the “View and edit” option. Here you can track the personal information that the particular app uses.
The “Apps and Websites” option also includes the list of expired apps, past apps and removed the app. Once the app is removed or expired, it will no longer be able to access your latest information, but the previously stored information remains in the database of app. However, a data-removal request can be sent to apps that have your information stored.
You haven’t checked them for so long so it is the right time to review them and make the necessary changes. Through the privacy settings, you can check who sees your posts, who can tag you, and similar other things. Moderating comment permissions and tagging permissions will surely do some good to you.
The higher you maintain the security of your Facebook, the better you can combat the hacking attempts. Some basic security measures are; keeping your recovery information updates and using a strong password, but for advanced security it is important to do a little extra such as enabling two-factor authentication.
The two-factor authentication is tough to hack, unlike your password. It adds an extra shell of security to your FB account. No access can be made to your account until you authenticate the access by providing the code you receive on your mobile device. So, even if someone has your password, he/she cannot get into your account as the second means of authentication is only provided to the real owner of the account.
First login to your FB account and then go to the Settings menu by using the down arrow from the top-right corner.
Now, click on Security and login from the left menu
Click Edit for Use-Two factor authentication.
Now select from Text message or an Authentication app
For “text message” you will receive a code on your phone whereas if you choose authentication app, launch the app and follow on-screen instructions.
On receiving the Two-Factor Authentication Is On, click Finish
Final words:
Using social media sites like FB is fun and beneficial for personal and professional growth, but it can be bothersome if the security measures are neglected. So, if your FB account is also hacked, learn a lesson for future and keep the greatest security on. Moreover, you are also recommended to report your hacked FB account at Facebook help center.
If you have lost or forgotten your Facebook account ID or password and want to recover it by using phone number then you can follow these steps:
● First, you have to visit the login page of Facebook on your device then enter your phone number linked with your lost account and then click on Forgot Password.
● Then you can choose your preferred method phone or email to found your lost account. Here, you have to choose phone then enter your phone number which is linked with your Facebook account.
● When you will submit your phone number, then Facebook will send you a verification code at your phone via text.
● After that you have to fill the verification code, you have received.
● Then you have to follow all the visible instructions at your screen to reset your password.
● After resetting your password, you can log in to your account easily.
● If still you are facing the issue in recovering your account then you can contact Facebook customer support for further help.
If you have lost your Facebook account ID or password then you can recover it by using your email ID linked with your account by going through the following steps:
● First, you have to visit the login page of Facebook on your device then click on Forgot Password.
● Then you can choose your preferred method phone or email to found your lost account. Here, you have to choose email then enter your email ID, which is linked with your Facebook account.
● When you will submit your email then you will receive a reset link at your email address. Go to your email box and then click on the link provided.
● Then you have to follow the instructions visible on your screen to reset your password of Facebook.
● If still you are facing the issue in recovering your account then you can contact Facebook customer support team for further help.
You can recover your Facebook account using your computer by following these steps:
● First you have to open web browser on your computer and have to visit the Facebook login page.
● There will be the option of Forgot Password below the login space, tap on it.
● Then you have to enter your email ID or phone number linked with your Facebook account and then tap on Search.
● Then Facebook will show your account details you have to confirm it that it’s your account and then tap on Continue.
● Here you will find several options such as receiving a code via email or phone number to reset your password. You can choose options according to your preference and have to follow the instructions appearing on your screen to reset your password.
● You can login to your account using your email address and new password after resetting your password.
● If still you are having the issue in recovering your account then you can contact Facebook customer support team for additional help.
If you want to recover your Facebook account by using your mobile device then you have to follow these steps:
● First you have to open Facebook application on your mobile device and have to visit the Facebook login page.
● There will be the option of Forgot Password below the login space, tap on it.
● Then you can enter your email address or phone number linked with your Facebook account and then click on Search button.
● Here you will find several options such as receiving a code via email or phone number to reset your password. You can choose options according to your preference and have to follow the instructions appearing on your screen to reset your password.
● Now, You can login to your account using your email address and new password after resetting your password.
● If you didn’t get results from the above mentioned steps then you can contact Facebook customer support team for additional help and support.
● You can choose three to five of your friends to be your Trusted Contacts. Make sure you are choosing those people who can be available when you need their help and you trust them completely. It will be better to choose more than three of your trusted friends or contacts because in case if one or more of them will not be available then you can or take help from others.
● Whenever you will face trouble in logging in, then you can take help from your trusted contacts as an option. Only you have to tell your trusted contacts that you require their support to recover your account. Then they will get a security code on your behalf as well as instructions on how they can help you. You will recover your account very easily just by entering the security code the security code received by your trusted contacts. You can check who are your trusted contacts by visiting your Security Settings.
● If you have any doubt that your account has been hacked by any or getting compromised in any way then you must have to visit www.facebook.com/hacked as soon as possible to take help from security team of Facebook.
Here are few methods by which you can confirm your identity with Facebook:
● To confirm your identity you may have to enter the code received on your phone or email send by Facebook.
● Facebook can ask you few security question which you have previously created. You have to provide the correct information of the questions to prove you identity.
● You may require to upload a picture of yourself to verify your identity. Mke sure your face is clearly visible in the photograph, and it is a recent portrait that matches your Facebook profile photo.
● If none of the above methods works then you might need to provide some additional information to verify your identity like your date of birth, name of your reliable contact, or other personal data may be included in this.
● If you didn’t get results from the above mentioned steps then you can contact Facebook customer support team for additional help and support.