You open your Facebook or Instagram and realize you’re locked out. Your friends are getting strange messages from ‘you’, in which you’re asking for money. A hacker has taken over your account. What do you do?
Hacked social media accounts are a pretty common event. Cyber criminals use social media to steal personal data, trick people into scams and hack accounts that have existed for a while. We’ll help you understand how this works and how to recover if this ever happens to you or someone you know.
How do cyber threats on social media work?
There are a lot of threats on social media, which evolve as more advancements are being made. Some of them include:
Phishing scams
Fake login pages trick users into giving away passwords. For example, you can get a fake email from Instagram asking you to “verify” your account.
Fake profiles & impersonation
Hackers create fake accounts to scam others. For example, this can be a scammer posing as a job recruiter, asking for payment to “secure” a job.
Data leaks & breaches
This is when personal information from hacked social media accounts is sold online.
Social engineering attacks
Cybercriminals use tricks to steal passwords. For example, Cyber criminals can pretend to be a customer service agent asking for login details.
Using your personal details
When you post your live location, birthday or the name of your workplace, they can guess possible passwords from this and use it to log in to your accounts. If this password is spread across different accounts, they automatically get access to all your accounts with this password.
How to Protect Your Social Media Accounts
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)
This adds extra protection when logging in and ensures no one but you can gain access to your social media accounts.
Use strong passwords
Avoid using names, birthdays, or common words. Instead, use a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols.
Check your privacy settings
Limit who can see your posts and personal details. For example, certain platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn lets your followers see your profile details.
Avoid suspicious links & messages
If a message seems odd, confirm with the sender directly before taking any action.
What to Do If Your Social Media Is Hacked
Reset your password immediately
If you can’t log in, use “Forgot Password.”. After doing this, confirm the hacker hasn’t sent any suspicious messages or changed your account settings.
Turn on 2 Factor Authentication
This helps prevent further attacks on your account.
Report the hack to the platform
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) all have recovery steps and there is a high chance that your account will be recovered if you keep in contact with them.
Warn your contacts
Let them know not to trust messages from your hacked account.
Check your email security
If your email was used for the hack, update its password, too.
Social media is great for connecting with people, but it also comes with risks. Protecting your accounts with strong security settings and knowing how to recover from an attack can keep you safe. Stay alert, be cautious with what you share, and always think before clicking on links or messages.
