(Newswire.net — April 26, 2017) — There is no way that you would ever think that it would happen to you, but sadly it happens every day to hundreds or even thousands of accounts. Finding your Facebook has been hacked is a scary and confusing event, one in which you must act quickly to minimize damage done to your personal information and possibly to your friends.
Finding out that your Facebook has been hacked means that you potentially have lost sensitive personal and even financial information to the hackers which have hijacked your account. Most of us use our accounts over a long amount of time, and although we are careful in what information is shared through the social media platform, at times of hurried communication, we might often share a little more than is safe for us to.
Addresses, telephone numbers, passwords, credit card details, passports or ID’s so much can be available for a hacker to harvest from your hacked account. Without realizing we can give out details and private information which we consider safe, because only our “friends” can see it. When a hacker enters your world and can see what only you see, things become a lot more dangerous.
In the occurrence that your Facebook has been hacked, there is no time to waste, you should gain back control of your account, immediately. Every minute the hacker is in possession of your personal information, means that you might be further in danger of losing your personal information.
Steps you should take if your Facebook has been hacked
1. Regain control of your account: Chances are that you will receive an email notification if a new or unusual log in has happened to your account (if you have this awesome feature turned on your Facebook account), so please do make sure that you receive email notifications for your account.
2. Access the damage: take a look at what information was available in your account then act accordingly. If you have any credit card details, better cancel the card and order a new one, if you have ID information or social security, report the hack to the police.
3. Inform your friends: Its best to post a general notice on your wall that your Facebook has been hacked, in order for your friends to not fall victim to any scams or malware that might have been placed by the hacker. Often they will receive a link and message from who they think is you, so they trust that it’s legitimate. The link may contain malware or a fake page asking for personal or log in information.
4. Report and then delete: Report all hacking attempts and actual hacks directly to Facebook. It’s your duty not only for your rights, but for others who might fall victim to a hacker. Report the incident and then make sure to delete anything posted or shared during the time that the hacker had control of your account. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
There is so much you can do to protect your account, but hackers are always fighting for a way to break in; from Facebook gamers to people who share their information via quizzes, you are opening yourselves up to hacking or malware attempts. Make sure that you have a strong password, that is never stored anywhere that can be assessed online, and never accept friend requests or messages from people you don’t know.