You are about to access your Facebook account only to realize you have lost control of it because it has been hacked. This can be very frustrating especially when you now have a community of people with the same values. However, nothing is lost as this can be fixed.
In Facebook’s continued efforts to help curb further cases of hacked accounts, a lot of features have been introduced including enabling two-factor authentication on your accounacc, but not many are bothered to look through this feature until there is a threat on their account.
As always, it is mostly on account owners to keep their accounts safe as hackers are always on the lookout. But if you have reasons to believe your Facebook account has been hacked, the normal process is to use ‘Forgotten Password’ on the login page and can only be effective if much damage has not been done. If such has happened, then a stronger approach will be needed.
In this article, we will provide you with everything you should know including knowing when your Facebook account has been hacked and how to report it if nothing else works.
HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED
1. Your Facebook account has been hacked if you notice that your names, email addresses, phone numbers, or passwords have been changed.
2. Another way to know if your account has been taken over by another is when your display picture and images have been altered or changed.
3. Posts you never created suddenly find a way to your timeline on Facebook.
4. You received reports of you sending messages to your circle or anyone whereas you did not.
5. If your Facebook account information has been modified, then it is even now evident that you have been hacked.
6. Friend requests are sent to people you do not know or want to have anything to do with.
HOW TO FIX A HACKED FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
Method 1 – Report or contact Facebook for help
This method has proven to be the best way to quickly fix your hacked Facebook account. Once a user has any reason to believe his or her account has been compromised, enter www.facebook.com/hacked on your computer or mobile browser.
Once you are in, you will need to enter your current login details. Follow the prompts and watch as Facebook takes it up. If it’s believed you truly own the account, you can expect your account to be restored to you.
However, this method may not be the quickest, but it is always worth it especially if you have tried other options, or your email/phone number has been removed from the account.
Method 2 – Review the various settings and adopt a stronger measure
If you can log in, but still have any reason to believe someone has access to your Facebook account, you can resolve the Facebook hack without bringing the Facebook team in.
First, you will need to go through all your information and all recent posts on your wall to know if there is no damaging content. After, proceed to change and use stronger passwords that contain numbers and symbols. You can even make your Facebook account more secure by activating 2FA.
To change your password, simply log in to your Facebook account, and go to SETTINGS > SECURITY AND LOGIN > CHANGE PASSWORD. When attempting to change your password, you will need to start with the current one and then the new one.
After you have managed to change your Facebook password, visit SECURITY AND LOGIN, then scroll down a bit and tap USE TWO FACTOR AUTHENTICATOR. Setting it up is so easy. Meanwhile, we recommend Text Message (SMS) or App Authentication.
Selecting the Text Message (SMS) option means that anytime you try to sign in to your account, codes will be sent to you as SMS which you are expected to enter on the login page. Without the codes, you are locked out of your Facebook account until you provide them.
The App Authentication also works fine and by going for that, you will need to download apps like Google Authenticator or Duo Mobile. This will also generate additional verification before you can access your Facebook account. The app is free to use.
3 – Get the recovery code from your Trusted Contacts
Your friends should know you better and it gets so much easier if you had already set this up prior to having another taking control of your Facebook account.
If you discover that you have been pushed out of your Facebook account, the account can still be gotten back instead of starting all over again. Meanwhile, your email should have a unique password since it connects you to all your social media platforms and can be used to restore your account. Email service providers are also known to be better at handling security. Note that this information may not be relevant to this section, but this advice tends to help a lot in most cases.
Users that have yet to set this feature should go to Settings > Password and Security > Password and Security > Choose 3 to 5 friends to contact if you get locked out > Choose Trusted Contacts. Follow the on-screen instructions to put a finishing touch.
If you have already set it up and your password has been changed, you can get the recovery code through the contacts you have selected.
- To do that, go to the login page and click FORGOT PASSWORD?
- Provide your email address, full name, or phone number.
- If you can no longer provide or have access to any of them, tap NO LONGER HAVE ACCESS TO THESE? and enter a new email or phone that you can use.
- Click REVEAL MY TRUSTED CONTACTS and follow the instructions to get the codes that can be used to restore your account.
- Meanwhile, you should attempt to use a new password since the previous one might have been compromised.
Method 4 – Log out of all sessions
Sometimes, it might be that you have opened your account on a device that anyone could have access to. When such happens, the best solution is to log out your Facebook account from all devices that it has been accessed.
To log out of your Facebook account from all devices, go back to Security and Login under SETTINGS, tap WHERE YOU’RE LOGGED IN, and click ‘LOG OUT OF ALL SESSIONS.