What to do if your Facebook Account is Hacked?

 
Hackers are an ever-present danger online. They exploit gaps in your security, either cracking your password, exploiting a vulnerability in a downloaded app or website or malicious software program to access your personal information or in some cases exploit your computer's processing power.
 other applications you use, Facebook can be targeted by hackers too. Once they have broken through, they will often and often lock you out of your account. This can be an anxiety inducing experience.

If you think you've been hacked, there are a number of steps you can take to recover your account and get connected again. And once you're back in, it's important that you review your security settings and make it harder for a hacker to get through your defenses next time.
Here's what you can do if you're hacked and once you've recovered your account.

If you no longer have access to your account, it's likely that a hacker has removed your logged in session or they have changed your login details. If you suspect this has happened, you can go tohttps://www.facebook.com/hacked, and report a compromised account.

Facebook will then help you recover your account, searching for your account using either the email address or phone number associated with it.

If you've enabled Choose friends to contact if you get locked out in Settings, you can use this function to reclaim access to your account too. Under this security function, you can select between three to five trusted confidants, who can grant you access back to your account.

To activate this function, you select Forgotten account? on the login page and then search your account by entering an email or phone number. Once located, you are then able to type in the name of one of your trusted contacts, who are then alerted, and a link is generated that only they can access. Once your contact opens that link, they can provide you with a recovery code to gain access back again.

Once you've recovered your account, it's important you secure your account by changing your password or enabling Use two-factor authentication or 2FA in Security and Login in Settings. Facebook also recommends that you remove any suspicious or malicious applications that have access to the data available in your Facebook account. You can do this at Apps and Websites in Settings and specifically check for apps that you no longer use, or you don't recognise and remove them.

We also recommend that you alert your friends that your account was compromised and tell them that any suspicious links and posts sent via your account during the ordeal should not be accessed or clicked.

You can also sign up to Get alerts about unrecognized logins in the Logins and Security under Settings in your Facebook account. Once selected, Facebook will let you know if anyone logs in from a device or browser you don't usually use and will guide you through steps to secure your account. Hackers and their tactics evolve across new apps and platforms as well as Facebook.


It's important to remain vigilant and actively manage your security settings through a Security Check Up and understand what to do if you suspect you've been hacked.