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How to recover when your Facebook account is hacked

There’s only so much you can do.

By David Strom

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Hopefully, the day will never come when you find your Facebook account has been hacked or taken over. It is an awful feeling, and I feel for you, for the world of hurt that you will experience in time and perhaps money to return your account to your rightful control. 

Let me take you through the recovery process. Afterward, I’ll provide some proactive security pointers you can follow to prevent this awful moment from happening, or at least reduce the chances that it will.

Three ways you can lose control of your Facebook account

There are actually three different possible scenarios.

Scenario 1. You let a family member or friend “borrow” your Facebook account on your computer or phone. They proceed to consume content, post messages as you, or befriend random people. This happened to a friend of mine, who had a grandchild staying at her home for a week. The girl left town and left a mess behind on my friend’s Facebook account. “She didn’t post anything to my account, but I had odd friend requests that I had to clean up. I decided to just quit using my account.” This is more of a nuisance than a hack, but still annoying.

Remedy : First, use Facebook’s security page to check and see where else your account is already logged in.

This list should also remind you of all of the devices that you have used Facebook on in the past. I took this screenshot after I found (and then removed) an older Windows laptop that I hadn’t used in years on the list. You’ll also see an entry for my iPhone that is located somewhere in Indiana. I haven’t visited that state in years, so sometimes the geo-location algorithms are a bit wonky. Even if your account isn’t hacked, it is helpful to routinely check this screen to make sure you haven’t enabled a login by mistake.

If you don’t recognize (or don’t use) any of the devices on this list, click on the three vertical dots on the right and force those machines to log out of your account. Next, change your password to something unique. Also, remember in the future to sign out of Facebook (and Messenger) before you loan your device to anyone.

Scenario 2. Someone uses your photo and name and sets up a new account. Then they proceed to try to recruit your FB friends to their account.

Remedy : There isn’t much you can do about it, other than tell people you are still you and to ignore the imposter. This should be a warning when you receive a friend request from someone you think you have already befriended, or someone you haven’t communicated with in years. A word to the wise: send them an email or text asking if the request is genuine.

Scenario 3. The doomsday scenario . Someone guesses your account password and proceeds to lock you out of your account. This situation is the most dire, and fixing this will depend on what else you have linked to your Facebook account and how determined you are to get it back.

This happened to Elizabeth, a book author. She ended up working with two different friends who were IT professionals and a lawyer over the course of four months. She had two complicating factors that made recovering her account difficult. 

First, she used Facebook ads to promote her books, so she had connected her login to her credit cards. This resulted in the hacker charging her card with their own ads to try to lure other victims to compromise themselves. 

The second complication was that she was using her pen name and a random birthday date for her account. During the recovery process, Facebook asks that you scan your ID to verify who you are. When she told me this, I became concerned for myself. For years I prided myself on using January 1 as my Facebook “birthday.” Now she was telling me that I was setting myself up for trouble if someone hacked my account.

She eventually got her password reset, but almost immediately the hacker reset and took over her account again. “I tried to get someone at Facebook to help me, but I couldn’t get anyone on the phone,” she told me. Before the pandemic, the company had a special phone hotline for industry insiders, “but this was discontinued,” she said. She had more success blocking the credit card charges by phoning her bank. “I was trying to be a step ahead of the hacker, and losing sleep. My whole life was put on hold as I tried to deal with the situation. I got no work done for months. I ended up changing my passwords on more than 30 different accounts.”

Possible remedies: if you find yourself in this last situation, you have three basic choices:

1. Now would be a good time to leave Facebook . The trouble is, you have someone who is pretending to be you, and could leverage your identity into criminal and uncomfortable situations. Not to mention that they could try to leverage bank accounts that are linked to your account or open up credit cards in your name. (More on that in a moment.)

2. Try to reinstate your account on your own , using Facebook’s own obscure and oftentimes contradictory steps . That is the way most people I know have tried. However, you will find out very quickly that there is no easy way to do this. You have to communicate with Facebook support through someone else’s account, which seems somewhat contradictory, so hopefully your spouse or friend is willing to lend a hand. (Don’t be tempted to set up a second account, because that could result in both of your accounts eventually being canceled.) Then you have to choose one of several options (finding an unauthorized post, an account that uses your own name and/or photos) and enter the rabbit hole to recover your account. 

If you use Facebook as a means to log into other internet services, you will have to disconnect these links — otherwise a hacker can then compromise these other accounts. If, like Elizabeth, you have connected your credit card or other financial accounts, you will have to contact these institutions and get these charges rescinded. Start by trying to use Facebook from other devices you have previously used: perhaps the hacker hasn’t automatically logged you out.

3. Use a third-party recovery service , such as Hacked.com . This will cost you $249, but the company will be persistent and if they can’t help you, they will refund your fee. You also get a year’s digital protection plan included that normally sells separately for $99. If you have a complex situation like Elizabeth (connected finances, non-matching birthday), I recommend using this path. 

But make sure you aren’t employing some random hacker who might be taking your money and doing nothing else. I spoke to Hacked.com founder Jonas Borchgrevink, who outlined the various sequences of steps that his staffers try in a recent Washington Post article . And he confirmed that if you are using a different name from what is shown on your ID, it is almost impossible to recover your account.

Proactive security measures

If you haven’t been hacked (yet) and are getting somewhat uncomfortable reading this, here are some steps to take to secure your Facebook account, or to at least reduce your pain points if it does happen. Start by doing at least one of them today, and make sure you take care of all of the items as soon as possible.

1. Set up additional login security on your Facebook account. Facebook offers you a set of confusing choices, but the one that I recommend is to use a two-factor authenticator app such as Google Authenticator. (You can start at this Facebook page .)

Two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA) uses an Android or iOS smartphone app as part of the login process. After you supply your username and password, Facebook asks you to type in a series of six numbers that are generated by the app. These numbers change every minute, so you need your phone nearby when you log in. If you want extra credit, take the time to enable this second factor method on your other accounts, including any banks and credit card companies that support this method (sadly, too few do).

Elizabeth was using a less secure method for her second factor: sending the six numbers as a text message to her phone. You can read more about why this isn’t my preference .

2. Check to see if you have any payment methods configured on Facebook. While preparing for this article, I was surprised to find my PayPal address linked to my Facebook account — and I thought I was being careful about my Facebook security. There are two places to check. First, there is the page that shows if you have set up any credit cards to make direct payments to individuals or causes, called Facebook Pay. Go to this other link to remove any ad payment methods . If you are running any ad campaigns on your business, you will have to stop them first. 

3. Remove connected apps and websites. If you have signed on to third-party apps using your Facebook credentials, now is the time to review and remove them (you can find the appropriate page here ). The same is true with removing any business integrations . You take a small hit in not being able to automatically log into these other services, but you also protect yourself if your account has been compromised.

If you have a Facebook business page, you should have at least two people who have admin rights to this page. (Go to Page Settings > Page Roles.) If your business account is hacked and you are the sole admin, it will be next to impossible to get it recovered. This contact should also have second factor authentication turned on.

4. Check your account’s email contacts ( using this Facebook page ). You should have at least a second contact email (or more) that Facebook can use to send you notifications in case your main email address becomes compromised. Of course, use different passwords with these different email accounts.

I know, this seems like a lot of work, and there are a lot of places in the Facebook settings pages that you will have to visit and pay attention to. And chances are, the links provided above might not work in the future, as Facebook likes to make changes to its settings. 

If these activities to make yourself more secure haven’t gotten you frustrated, you might want to continue improving your security. I recommend either the Jumbo smartphone app for iOS and Android, or Avast One (available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android). Either can help walk you through the numerous steps to secure your Google, Twitter, and other accounts.

Parting words of wisdom

Think before you click. If you get a message from what looks like a social media company saying that your account has been compromised, don’t follow any links or call any phone numbers in the message. This could be a lure from a hacker. Instead, navigate to the site or use its own app directly.

Be aware of things that seem unusual . Keep an eye out for messages you didn’t send, posts you didn’t create, or purchases you didn’t make. These could be tells that someone has guessed your password or compromised your account. If you are lucky, it might be an errant teen using one of your computers.

As Elizabeth told me, “Being hacked is like getting a digital tattoo — everyone can see the after-effects of your poor choices.”  

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Hacked Facebook Account: Immediate Recovery Steps

Regain control of your Facebook account

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How Was My Account Hacked?

• Step-by-Step: Report the Hack

Alert Your Friends

• Step-by-Step: Delete Unknown Apps
• Extra: Enable Two-Factor Authentication
• Extra: Run Security Checkup
• Extra: Change Your Facebook Password Regularly

Facebook and its more than 2 billion active users are an attractive target for hackers. Some of the more successful hacks appear in the news, but many hacks are smaller and affect only some Facebook users.

Indicators that someone may have hacked your Facebook account are:

• Your email or password has changed.
• Your name or birthday has changed.
• Fake friend requests have been sent from your account to people you don't know.
• Friend requests have been sent to people who are already your friends.
• Posts that you didn't create appear to be from you.
• Friends receive messages from you that you didn't write.

If any of these telltale signs happen to you or you notice any other unusual activity, take fast action to protect your account.

When you think your Facebook account may have been hacked, change your password before you do anything else. If you no longer have access to your Facebook account, immediately follow the steps described below.

These directions work for any Facebook account. The steps described below require access to the desktop version of Facebook.com.

Hackers may have gained access to your Facebook account in any number of ways.

They could have guessed your password, or they may have set up an Evil Twin Wi-Fi hotspot at a coffee shop and stolen your credentials through a man-in-the-middle attack. Maybe you left your account logged in at a computer lab at your school or library, or hackers could be using your account from a stolen tablet or phone.

Regardless of how they managed to obtain your Facebook credentials, the best thing to do is move quickly to limit the amount of damage and try to prevent any further hacks.

Report a Compromise to Facebook

If you can't recover your Facebook password and access your account, you can still report a possible hack to the company and receive help to reset your password:

Open Facebook's Report Compromised Account page.

Click My Account Is Compromised .

Enter the phone number or email address associated with your account, and then click Search .

Type your current password or an old one, and then click Continue .

Select one of the options from the list that indicate why you think your account has been hacked, and then click Continue .

Facebook explains that you need to change your password and confirm that recent changes to your account came from you to keep your account secure.

Click Get Started .

Follow the instructions provided to secure your account and change your password.

Tell your Facebook friends that your account was hacked. Warn them not to click any links that may have come from your account during the time it was hacked and out of your control.

Hackers who compromised your account may have posted on your friends' pages or sent links in comments or private messages.

Delete Unknown Apps From Your Account

Eliminate any Facebook apps installed on your account that you don't recognize. While you're at it, delete apps you no longer use. At some point, you may have granted the apps access to some of your personal information.

Open the Facebook menu by clicking the arrow in the top right corner.

Click Settings .

Click Apps and Websites from the left pane.

Check the box next to the Facebook apps you want to remove, and then click Remove .

Click Remove again on the confirmation prompt. You also have the opportunity to delete every post, photo, and video that the apps posted on your behalf.

If you click View and edit on an app, it shows the level of access it has to your account and the information Facebook shares with it.

Also on the Apps and Website page are additional tabs at the top where you can find expired apps (apps that had access at one time, but their permissions have since lapsed) and past apps (which have been removed from your account).

Removed or expired apps still have the information shared with them while the apps were active, but they can no longer access that information from your Facebook account after they expire or are removed.

Clicking the tile for a removed or expired app tells you the best method to request that the app delete your information.

Prevention: Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Don't wait for the next hack to take steps to improve your Facebook security and privacy. To prevent your account from being compromised again, Facebook strongly recommends using two-factor authentication .

Activating this feature requires an additional form of authentication beyond your password when anyone attempts to log in to your account. The second form of authentication can be a number code texted to your phone or a code generated by a separate authentication app on your phone, or a smart key inserted into your computer's USB drive.

When you have two-factor authorization in place, someone could have full access to your password, but unless they also have your second means of authentication (like your phone or a physical token), they can't get into your Facebook account.

To enable two-factor authentication on your Facebook account:

Click the down arrow in the upper right corner of Facebook to access the menu.

Click Security and Login in the left pane.

Click Edit next to Use two-factor authentication .

You may be prompted to ensure your password. Enter it and then click Get Started .

Select either Text Message or Authentication App , and then click Next .

If you choose Text Message , enter the code in the fields provided. If you choose Authentication App , launch it on your phone and follow the instructions.

Click Finish when you see the Two-Factor Authentication Is On message.

Be wary of relying solely on text-message solutions for two-factor authentication. In addition to SIM spoofing (in which someone gets the phone company to reassign your number to a different device), if you lose access to your phone or you change phone numbers, you'll need help regaining access.

Prevention: Run Security Checkup

Facebook's Security Checkup feature adds additional security to your account. Use it to:

• Log out of Facebook and Messenger from unused browsers and apps.
• Receive an alert when someone logs in to your account from an unrecognized mobile device or computer.

Prevention: Change Your Facebook Password Regularly

Resetting your password regularly is a good habit to adopt. You can do it at any time.

Launch Facebook's menu from the down arrow in the upper right corner of the page.

Click Edit next to Change password in the Login section of the center pane.

Enter your current password next to Current , type a new password in the New field, and then type the new password once more to confirm in the Re-type new text box.

Click Save Changes .

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How-To Geek

What to do if your facebook account gets "hacked".

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My Friends and I Are Ditching Facebook, but Here's How It Could Win Us Back

The best gaming laptops of 2024, 10 habits to keep resource usage low on a windows pc, quick links, let's talk about getting "hacked", when to take action, what to do if this happens, what to do if you're locked out of your account.

A few days ago, I got a strange Facebook message from my uncle. It was clearly out of character for him, so I knew something was up: his account had been compromised. Here's what to do if this happens to you or someone you know.

The term "hacked" gets thrown around a lot---pretty loosely, to be honest---and has become the popular term for any time an account becomes compromised. Since it has become such a vague term in popular culture, let's lay down a quick definition: leaving your phone somewhere so your friend/gf/whatever gets access to it is not getting "hacked."  We've all seen those posts---"Hacked! Love you baby!" This is not a hack. Not even close. And we're not talking about that today.

There's another phenomenon common on Facebook where somebody else creates a new account using your name, and sometimes a profile picture they obtained from your page, and then starts spamming your friend list with invites and other messages. This is also not a hack. Report that fake user to Facebook, and they'll help you sort it out.

What we are talking about is when your account becomes truly compromised. This is when your account credentials fall into the wrong hands or your account otherwise starts to allow activity that you didn't authorize. While we wouldn't always call this getting "hacked," it's the term that's most widely used to describe the situation.

If you notice (or get notified about) changes to your account that you didn't make, it's time to do something. What kind of changes? This kind:

• Your personal information gets updated:  Birthday, email, password, etc.
• You're getting new friends you didn't send requests to:  If you notice an influx of new friends that you didn't send requests to, something is wrong.
• People are getting messages you didn't send:  If someone tells you they got a weird message from you, you need to look into it.
• Posts are published that you didn't share:  No one likes spammy crap, especially when it's coming from your profile.

First, you'll need to determine what's going on. Are you locked out of your account? Are posts showing up from you that you didn't share? Are people getting messages you didn't send? Most of these things require different steps to resolve, so let's start with the easiest and work from there.

If people are complaining about spammy posts showing up in their timeline or getting questionable messages from you, there's a good chance an app with access to your Facebook account has gone rogue. The same is true if you happen to catch any of the other aforementioned issues, too.

First of all, your account is still probably pretty "safe"---apps don't get access to personal information like passwords or email addresses. You should probably go ahead and change your password anyway, just to be cautious. You'll find instructions on how to do that later in this article.

The key here, however, is taking a close look at all the apps that have access to your account. Here's how.

How to Check App Access on the Web

To check this out from your computer, jump over to Facebook, and then click the little down arrow in the upper right. Choose the "Settings" option.

In the Settings menu, select the "Apps" command.

Now comes the fun part: you get to sort through every app that has access to your Facebook account, which may or may not be a lot. Some (maybe even most) of these app will be legit, but you'll want to at least run through and revoke access from any app that you no longer use.

To do that, just click the X beside the app name when you hover over it.

When you click that X, a new dialog box pops up asking for confirmation. Smash that "Remove" button, and boom---it's gone.

Depending on how many apps you've allowed access to over the years, this could be pretty time consuming. Godspeed.

How to Check App Access on Mobile

If you're all about that mobile life and don't mess with Facebook on the web, the process is slightly different. Slightly.

First, fire up the Facebook app on your phone. The process is basically the same across both Android and iOS, and we'll provide screenshots for both to make it easy to follow along.

Tap the Menu button on the right side. It's in the top row on Android (left, below), and on the bottom on an iPhone (right, below).

Now scroll to the bottom and tap the "Account settings" entry. On iOS you'll have to tap "Settings" first, and then tap the "Account Settings" entry.

From there, scroll down and tap the "Apps" option.

Finally, tap the "Logged in with Facebook" entry.

The nice thing here is that this list is broken down into sections by what the app is allowed to access:

• Sharing with Public: This means it's allowed to make public posts on your wall. Anyone who looks at your profile, whether they're a friend or not, will see this.
• Sharing with Friends: Only people on your friends list will see these posts. That's still annoying.
• Sharing with Only Me: Only you will see these posts. It'll be interesting if you start to spam yourself.

To remove an app, just tap it, scroll to the bottom of the page, and then tap the "Remove app" button.

And then confirm that you want to remove the app. It's also worth nothing that you will be able to remove all posts published by apps with Public access.

Note: The iOS Facebook app has an additional step that asks you to report the app if it's misbehaving. You can do this, or you can skip this step by pressing the back button.

This one can be really scary, but if you get locked out of your account completely, there's no reason to panic. You can get it back.

First, go to Facebook's "Hacked" page . It'll ask some questions---just answer them to re-gain access to your account.

Once you're back in, change your password. Pick something good, something strong ---even better, just use a password manager .

To change your password, jump back into the Settings menu and click the "Security and login" option.

Choose "Change password" under the Login section.

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Has Your Facebook Been Hacked? How to Tell (and Fix It)

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It's no fun logging into Facebook and realizing that someone has hacked your account. But it happens, and the damage done can be a big deal for you and your friends and family.

Thankfully, there are a few things that you can do to confirm that your Facebook account was hacked and how to deal with it.

How to Check if Your Facebook Account Was Hacked

Facebook hacks have gotten more sophisticated over the years. It started out posting spam links on your friends' walls. Now, Facebook hackers might send messages with links to your friends, hoping they click on it and give up their account info too.

Another common Facebook scam is your account posting unbelievably cheap items on Facebook marketplace, or posting in groups asking people to answer a riddle.

Your hacked Facebook account might also change your profile information, or even change your email address and password. These are all bad scenarios and things you'll want to avoid.

There are two main ways to tell if your Facebook account was hacked: checking your login locations and checking your payment history.

How to Check Your Facebook Login Locations

Thankfully, there's an easy way to discover whether or not someone else has logged into your Facebook account.

Go to Settings and Privacy > Activity Log > Active Sessions . The information contained in the section will show where you've logged in and with what devices you signed in.

Remember: If your password has been changed by a hacker, you need to act quickly to recover your Facebook account .

If you do find a discrepancy with where you've logged in to Facebook, you can easily end the activity of that session, which should help safeguard you from any hacking attempt on that device. You can also log out of all sessions to be safe.

Checking Your Payment History on Facebook

There's another way to check whether someone has hacked your Facebook account, and that's by checking your purchase history. If you have a credit card stored on your account, it's possible that hackers could make fraudulent purchases and drive up your bill.

To ensure you're protected, go to Settings and Privacy > Settings > Account Center > Payments. Here, you can see if someone purchased ads using your account or used Meta Pay.

If you notice any fraudulent charges, you can inform Facebook Support about them. The company is pretty good with replying to concerns, whether that's through the Facebook account or through its official Twitter account.

How to Report Your Hacked Facebook Account

If you have any problems with hacking whatsoever, you should inform Facebook. Facebook is keen to know about hacks and wants to do its part to keep the site as safe and secure as possible. Facebook is constantly adapting and improving it's security,

Facebook has a dedicated page for those who believe their account may have been compromised. This page can be found at facebook.com/hacked . Here, you can report people sending messages from your account, duplicate accounts, or a potential hack attempt.

You could check out the Bullying Center , Safety Check , and Safety Center pages if you have additional problems with your Facebook account and/or security.

How to Fix a Hacked Facebook Account

If you have been unfortunate enough to suffer from a hacked Facebook account, don't worry. It is possible to rectify the issue.

To minimize the damage you should:

• Change your Facebook password.
• Remove suspicious third-party applications.
• Alert your friends and family as soon as possible.
• Report the issue to Facebook via the company's official channels.

If you need more detailed guidance, here's a full guide on how to fix a hacked Facebook account .

How to Protect Your Facebook Account in Future

Before we get into fixing your Facebook account, it's best to know how to prevent would-be hackers from accessing your account. Setting a better password, avoiding spam, and increasing your privacy are just a few methods that could help safeguard your Facebook.

Use a Strong Password

You need to set a memorable password that isn't susceptible to brute force attacks. Enabling fingerprint access is also good security advice, along with being convenient.

After you have taken care of the basics, there are a few more advanced options you should consider. You could enable email or login notifications, which you can do under Settings and Privacy > Settings > Account Center > Password and Security > Login Alerts.

Under the security settings, you can also set up two-factor authentication. Doing so requires a security code to be typed when logging in from an unknown device or browser, and is another powerful deterrent to consider. Just make sure you keep this updated with your current phone number.

Take Precautions When Browsing Facebook

You also need to think about the preventative measures you can take to protect your Facebook account from hackers.

For example, you should avoid clickbait links. This might seem simple enough, but there are plenty of cases of people clicking spam on Facebook and that lead to malware or phishing sites. Don't let it happen to you. Avoid spam links, which may even appear in your Messenger inbox.

You should also avoid any messages claiming to be your friends trying to get their accounts fixed, as this is another common hack. Here, a hacker will send you a link when pretending to be a friend, and the link will end up stealing your information instead. You should also avoid sending anyone a Facebook text message code or one-time PIN (OTP).

You should also avoid fake websites that are made to look like Facebook and could steal your sensitive information. If you enter your login details into such a site, your Facebook account will be hacked in seconds.

Adjust Your Facebook Privacy Settings

Another step you can take is to increase privacy settings on your profile page, photos, posts, and tags.

Hiding these items from the public view improves your privacy on the platform. Doing so is a good way to ensure that your details are shown to specific people, and not to your entire list—or worse—the entire internet.

Safeguard Your Facebook Privacy and Security

Hopefully, you now know how to tell if your Facebook account has been hacked and what to do about it.

And remember, while nothing is ever 100 percent protected, Facebook offers lots of ways to safeguard your account. Doing so means that hackers will be hard-pressed to obtain your data or personal information. By taking the necessary security precautions, you're ensuring that you're as protected as possible.

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Facebook Account Hacked? How to Report A Compromised FB Account and Easily Recover It

Here's how to report and recover your hacked Facebook account!

Facebook is one of the biggest social media platforms across the globe. The platform has over a billion users around the world and naturally, it becomes the target for many scammers, hackers, and more. There are several different ways hackers can access a Facebook account. It might be through a phishing scam or they might get access to your sensitive personal information. If you’re unlucky enough to have your Facebook account hacked, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we will tell you how to report and recover your hacked Facebook account along with some important tips and tricks that will help you secure your account.

Also Read: How to Lock Facebook Profile on Your Android or iOS App and Website

How to Know If Your Facebook Account is Hacked or Compromised?

There are different ways to tell whether your FB account is hacked or compromised. First of all, you will need to check whether there is unauthorised access to your Facebook account. In order to do that, do the following:

• Go to your Facebook profile and click on the hamburger menu at the top-right.
• Go to Settings and head to Security and Login. You will see an option to view the devices which are logged in to your Facebook account.
• If you see any device which looks suspicious, click on the ‘Not You? Log Out’ option.

Also Read: How to Delete Your Facebook Account, Page and Group in Easy Steps?

That being said, there can also be other factors which suggest that your Facebook account is hacked or compromised. These might include:

• Your email address or password has been changed.
• Your name or birthday has been changed.
• Your account is sending friend requests to people you don’t know.
• There are posts on your profile which you didn’t create.
• You appear to have sent messages to unknown people you don’t remember sending.

How to Report and Recover Your Facebook (FB) Account

Facebook allows you to report and recover your account if it is hacked or misused. Here’s what you need to do:

• Go to facebook.com/hacked .
• Choose an option from the list of reasons provided. Once done, click on Continue.
• The page will take you to secure your account settings. Click on Get Started. The tool will analyse all the apps, password, email address, and more.
• Once this is completed, it will provide an option to change the password and review your email address.
• Click on Continue and follow the on-screen instructions to recover your Facebook account.

Also Read: Facebook Video Download Online: How To Download Facebook Videos, Reels on Android, iOS Mobiles, Laptop

That being said, if the email address associated with your Facebook account is changed, you will still need to recover it. When there is a change in the email address, Facebook sends a message to your old email ID with a special link. You can click that link to reverse the email address change and secure your account.

How to Report a Facebook Account That is Impersonating You?

There are times when you see a Facebook profile that pretends to be you by using your photo and name. If you or a friend spot such an account, here’s what you need to do:

• Go to the profile of the account that is impersonating you.
• If you cannot find it, search for it using the name or ask your friends to send the link of the profile.
• Click on the profile and then on the three dots on the cover photo.
• Tap on the Report button and follow the on-screen instructions to report the account impersonating you.

Also Read: Facebook Account Delete: How to Delete Facebook Account Permanently

Tips to Make Your Facebook Account Secure

Whether you’ve been the victim of a hack or not, it is vital to make sure that you secure your Facebook account. There are some tips and tricks through which you can do it. Here’s what you need to do:

Use Two-factor Authentication

Facebook has introduced a two-factor authentication feature that helps you to protect your Facebook account. The feature allows you to enter a special login code to confirm your login attempt each time you access your Facebook account from a mobile device or a browser. In order to activate this feature, do this:

• Go to Security and login settings
• Scroll down to Two-factor authentication and click on Edit.
• Choose the desired security method and follow the on-screen instructions to activate this feature.

Get Alerts About Unrecognised Logins

Facebook also allows users to set alerts about unrecognised logins from their account. This security feature basically alerts you when someone tries to log in from a new device or web browser. The alerts give you information about the location from which the login attempt was made. Here’s how you can enable it:

• Go to Settings and click on Security and Login Settings.
• Scroll down to ‘Get alerts about unrecognised logins’ and click on Edit.
• Choose where you want to receive your alerts, such as from your email account or with a Facebook notification from a recognised device.
• Click on Save Changes and the feature will be activated.

Log out From Your Account When You Use A Different Computer

If you’re using someone else’s laptop or your office laptop or PC, always make sure to logout from your Facebook account to prevent someone else accessing it.

Always Choose a Strong Password

It is important to use a strong password for your Facebook account. One should create a password that is easy to remember but difficult to guess for others. Avoid using your email address, phone number, date of birth or more for creating a password. It is always advisable to use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters to create a strong password. Alternatively, use Google Chrome or Safari’s strong password suggest tool, which will create a password out of random characters, and save it to your Google or iCloud account for easy access.

Never Share Your Login Details With Anyone

This is one of the most important tips of all time: never ever share your login details with anyone. This is especially the case when you are online. Scammers may create fake websites that look similar to Facebook and then they will tell you to log in with your email and password. Always make sure that you are using the right website. If you have any doubts, simply type www.facebook.com into your browser to access Facebook.

Check for Malware or Viruses

It is important to keep an eye out for malicious software on your system. Always make sure to scan your computer for viruses, malware, and more and remove it on time so that your sensitive information remains safe.

Run Facebook Security Checkup

Facebook’s Security Checkup feature can add extra security to your account. You can use this feature to:

• Turn on notifications on the Facebook app and Email address when someone tries to log in to your account.
• Turn on the two-factor authentication option if it isn’t turned on.
• Change the password if it isn’t secure enough.

Change Your Facebook Password Regularly

Resetting your password regularly is a good way to increase the security of your Facebook Account. Here’s how to do it:

• Open Facebook.
• Select ‘Settings & Privacy’ and then ‘Settings’.
• Next, select ‘Security and login’.

• Enter your current password, enter your new password and select ‘Save changes’.

How to use Facebook Security Checkup to Secure your FB Account?

Facebook also allows you to secure your account by diagnosing it through its Security Checkup feature. The feature basically tells you whether your password is strong enough, whether you have turned on two-factor authentication, and how you can get notifications if you login with your Facebook account. Here’s how you can use the Facebook Security Checkup feature to protect your FB account.

• Click on this link and you will be taken directly to the Facebook Security Checkup page.
• Click on Continue and then you will be asked to replace your current password with a strong one.
• Next, you will be asked to turn on the two-factor authentication. Once you activated this, click on Next button.
• Lastly, you will be asked to select different ways to get notifications whenever you log into your Facebook account. You can click on Turn On All.
• With this, you can have some peace of mind about making your Facebook account secure.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How to know if someone hacked your facebook account.

You should know if your Facebook account has been hacked by someone or if there is a change of email address or password. Moreover, your name or birthday has been changed. There are friend requests sent from your profile to unknown people. Messages have been sent that you didn’t write. Moreover, there are some posts that may have been posted from your profile without your knowledge.

How to know if a public figure or brand on Facebook is authentic?

You can be sure of the authenticity of a public figure or brand if it has a verified blue tick.

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