Today, around 25% of Facebook accounts have been compromised, with 70% of the victims being locked out of their accounts. And in many cases, the victim has no idea they've been hacked until it's too late.
6 Signs Your Facebook Account Has Been Hacked
Here are some signs that someone is poking around your Facebook account:
- You find strange posts in your timeline.
- Some of your personal details have been altered(user name, birthday, email)
- You find friend requests sent to people you don’t know.
- Your password has been changed.
- An increased amount of spam or suspicious links.
- Complaints from friends about strange messages or posts coming from your account.
How to Confirm That Your Facebook Account Has Been Hacked
Once you suspect that your account has been compromised, you can easily confirm by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner and then clicking Settings & Privacy. \
After that, click Settings.
In the top left corner, select Password and Security, then click Password and Security.
Finally, under the Device Logins section, ensure all active portals are associated with you. \
How to Avoid Your Facebook Account Being Hacked
To stop your Facebook account from being hacked, you’ll have to be very proactive in three different ways:
- Password Protection
- Privacy Settings
- Human Error
1. Password Protection
It’s easy to make mistakes when it comes to picking out a password. For example, two-thirds of Americans use the same password for more than one account online. These types of common mistakes lead to accounts getting hacked every day.
Here are some ways to make sure your password is as secure as humanly possible:
Create A Strong and Secure Password
Once a hacker learns your Facebook password, it’s all over.
Your password needs to be easy enough for you to remember (or store somewhere) and long enough to be impossible to guess.
One of the best ways to make sure that your password is strong is by including numbers, symbols, and a mix of upper and lower case letters.
Safely Store Your Password
If your password is one that’s not easy to remember, make sure to write the phrase down and store it somewhere only you know how to access.
You can also use a password manager to store your computer's password safely. There may already be a password manager on your device, but it’s often best to find a password encrypting app that’s not built in.
Create a Password Just For Facebook
As a general rule, you should create a different password for every social media service you use.
If a hacker gets your Facebook password, you don’t want them getting into your TikTok, Instagram, and other accounts as well.
Make sure the strong password you create is just for Facebook.
Change Your Password Every Six Months
You can’t be too safe when it comes to password protection. Changing your password at least every six months makes it extremely difficult for hackers to crack it.
This advice goes for any password you have.
2. Privacy Settings
Facebook is aware of the problems that many of its users have when it comes to their accounts getting hacked. As a countermeasure, Facebook has provided a few privacy settings you can use to help protect yourself:
Enable Two-factor Authentication
You can think of two-factor authentication as an extra layer of protection that keeps unethical hackers from poking around your account. This is done by forcing you to authenticate your account by sending you a text message to confirm it’s actually you signing in.
To enable two-faster authentication:
Click on your profile picture, then open up the settings. In the top right corner, click Password and Security.
Under Account Settings, click Password and Security again, then select Two-factor Authentication.
From here, follow the on-screen prompts to turn this option on.
Use Login Alerts
If you really want to feel safe about your account security, you can receive an alert every time someone logs into your account. Once you know someone has logged in that’s not you, you can try to quickly solve the problem before it’s too late.
To turn on login alerts, click on your profile image and navigate to your settings. Then click on Password and Security in both the Accounts Center and Account Settings.
In the Security Checks settings, select Login Alerts.
Make Your Account Private
One of the ways that hackers figure out your password is by piecing together clues from your personal information. You can limit the personal information these bad actors get from you by making your account private.
You can do this by opening up the Privacy page in your settings, then, in the Your Activity section, click Edit at the end of the “Who can see your future posts” line.
From there, follow the on-screen prompts to make your account private.
3. Human Error
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much protection you’ve surrounded yourself with if you let a scammer use social engineering against you.
Here are some of the best ways to ensure that you don’t get tricked into giving your Facebook password:
Don’t Accept Random Friend Requests
One of the sneaky ways that scammers get your information is by creating fake accounts and befriending you.
If you have your account set to tell your friends when your birthday is, for example, a scammer account in your friends list will be notified about your birthday and then use that information against you.
To be safe, only accept friend requests from people you know.
Only Use Trusted Computers
Avoid using public computers to log in to Facebook as much as you can. You never know who the next person who uses the computer will be and if they are a good or bad actor.
If you absolutely have to use a public computer, just make sure to log out of your account the second you leave.
Block Suspicious People
If someone you’re interacting with seems fishy and you don’t know who they are personally, block them.
There are plenty of good people on the internet and you don’t need to deal with suspicious people.
Going on a blocking spree is better than getting your account stolen.
Final Thoughts
Although hundreds of Facebook accounts get hacked daily, it’s easy to protect yourself once you know what to do.
Make sure to follow the tips above to keep unethical hackers out of your account, and share this article with anyone you know who’s worried about their account getting stolen.