If you notice unusual activities on your Facebook account, it may have been stolen or hacked, that is, hacked by a hacker or simply hit by a virus application that uses the account to do what it wants.
Unusual activities include sending messages that you don't really remember sending, sending advertisements, posting updates never written and things like that. In some cases, it may be that you can no longer even access your Facebook account that has been compromised or stolen by someone.
The problem with Facebook is that it is often used with little foresight compared to what you would do with the bank account for example, leaving passwords easy to discover, never changed in many years and then with the propensity to click anything you seem nice, even if you often end up giving personal data to strangers.
READ ALSO: How to hack a Facebook account
Given the amount of data we add to Facebook, it is more important than ever to make sure that you keep your account secure. However, even the most security-conscious users can have their account compromised. A secure password is not enough; all you have to do is lose your phone or accidentally leave it connected to a public computer. Facebook can also be violated by close people, who perhaps cleverly or deceitfully try to know what we write and what messages we send to other people.
Fortunately, Facebook offers some protections to keep the account safe from hackers, and recover the use of the profile if it is found to have been compromised or stolen .
To activate this function, log into Facebook, click on the small arrow in the upper right corner of the screen and open the Settings from the menu. Then, on the left side of the screen, press on Security and access .
If you scroll down, you can find the options to receive alerts on unrecognized access, to be activated for both Facebook and Messenger. You can request a notification on your smartphone, an email notification or both. When ready, click on Save changes .
Note that this feature does not block the login attempt, but informs you that the login has taken place).
Currently active sessions will have an indicator written in green next to the name of the browser used. For each session, you can see the device type, location and date. If you notice an unrecognized connection to the account here, you can press on the three vertical points next to the name of the session and click on Not you . Facebook will guide you through various options to resolve the problem and secure your account.
Note however that the list is based on IP addresses and may not be accurate, for example signaling connections from other countries on our part), therefore many are not entirely accurate.
To close all active sessions, you can press the Disconnect from all sessions button at the bottom of the list. After doing so, it is worthwhile to immediately change your Facebook password and enable Facebook's two-factor authentication.
This step opens a wizard that asks you to indicate the problem if:
If you can no longer log in, Facebook asks you to enter the username or email address you used to log into Facebook or even enter your name and one of the Facebook friends' names. Facebook looks for all the registered accounts to recognize the right one and asks to enter the old password. Even if the hacker had changed the password, Facebook will be able to recognize the old password to regain access . Finally, you will be asked to create a new password, which is different from the previous one, at least eight characters long and has a special character or a number.
After creating the new password, Facebook will advise the user to change the email password, especially if it were the same as the old Facebook password. In fact, it may be that the hacker compromised the account and managed to log in because he is able to read the emails from the hacked user's private mailbox.
The Facebook help page provides other details for the recovery procedure if you are a victim of a hacker.
It is also very useful to set up trusted contacts to help us recover the lost account .
It may be that the Facebook account was hacked because he logged in from a friend's computer or from a public pc without going out or because someone used our computer. There may also be malware on the PC that is responsible for the problem.
Do an antimalware check using programs like malwarebytes to clean every virus.
2) Check the used applications that have Facebook permissions.
One of the most common methods of hacking Facebook is the use of an application or game authorized to use the Facebook account. Go to your Account Settings, in the Apps section, and immediately delete all the apps you are not using.
READ ALSO: Recover Facebook login and password if you no longer log in
Unusual activities include sending messages that you don't really remember sending, sending advertisements, posting updates never written and things like that. In some cases, it may be that you can no longer even access your Facebook account that has been compromised or stolen by someone.
The problem with Facebook is that it is often used with little foresight compared to what you would do with the bank account for example, leaving passwords easy to discover, never changed in many years and then with the propensity to click anything you seem nice, even if you often end up giving personal data to strangers.
READ ALSO: How to hack a Facebook account
Given the amount of data we add to Facebook, it is more important than ever to make sure that you keep your account secure. However, even the most security-conscious users can have their account compromised. A secure password is not enough; all you have to do is lose your phone or accidentally leave it connected to a public computer. Facebook can also be violated by close people, who perhaps cleverly or deceitfully try to know what we write and what messages we send to other people.
Fortunately, Facebook offers some protections to keep the account safe from hackers, and recover the use of the profile if it is found to have been compromised or stolen .
Check unrecognized Facebook logins
Facebook keeps track of all the devices used to access the account and if it is accessed from a browser or from a new computer or from an unusual location, Facebook may send a notification to warn the user of the possible stolen account.To activate this function, log into Facebook, click on the small arrow in the upper right corner of the screen and open the Settings from the menu. Then, on the left side of the screen, press on Security and access .
If you scroll down, you can find the options to receive alerts on unrecognized access, to be activated for both Facebook and Messenger. You can request a notification on your smartphone, an email notification or both. When ready, click on Save changes .
Note that this feature does not block the login attempt, but informs you that the login has taken place).
Check the connections made
Remaining in the protection settings as from the previous point, you can see all the active and recent Facebook sessions at the top of the page, where it is written Where you are logged in .Currently active sessions will have an indicator written in green next to the name of the browser used. For each session, you can see the device type, location and date. If you notice an unrecognized connection to the account here, you can press on the three vertical points next to the name of the session and click on Not you . Facebook will guide you through various options to resolve the problem and secure your account.
Note however that the list is based on IP addresses and may not be accurate, for example signaling connections from other countries on our part), therefore many are not entirely accurate.
To close all active sessions, you can press the Disconnect from all sessions button at the bottom of the list. After doing so, it is worthwhile to immediately change your Facebook password and enable Facebook's two-factor authentication.
Signs that the Facebook account has been compromised
Symptoms that the account may have been hacked, hacked or stolen are as follows:- The personal data (name, date of birth, place, employer, etc.) have been changed.
- We have friends of people we don't recognize
- Non-ours messages were sent from our Messenger account
- Unusual and never seen before posts appear in the news flow.
- In our friends' diary appear our posts that we have never written
How to report to Facebook that the account has been stolen or hacked
If you cannot log in to your account (and even if you can still log in but there are strange things) you can ask Facebook to resolve the problem from www.facebook.com/hacked .This step opens a wizard that asks you to indicate the problem if:
- I saw a post, message or event on my account that I haven't created.
- Someone else entered my account without my permission.
- I have found an account that uses my name or photos.
- People can see things on my account that I thought were private.
- Other problem
If you can no longer log in, Facebook asks you to enter the username or email address you used to log into Facebook or even enter your name and one of the Facebook friends' names. Facebook looks for all the registered accounts to recognize the right one and asks to enter the old password. Even if the hacker had changed the password, Facebook will be able to recognize the old password to regain access . Finally, you will be asked to create a new password, which is different from the previous one, at least eight characters long and has a special character or a number.
After creating the new password, Facebook will advise the user to change the email password, especially if it were the same as the old Facebook password. In fact, it may be that the hacker compromised the account and managed to log in because he is able to read the emails from the hacked user's private mailbox.
The Facebook help page provides other details for the recovery procedure if you are a victim of a hacker.
It is also very useful to set up trusted contacts to help us recover the lost account .
Other checks to do to prevent account problems
1) First of all check that the used computer is protected from viruses and extraneous access .It may be that the Facebook account was hacked because he logged in from a friend's computer or from a public pc without going out or because someone used our computer. There may also be malware on the PC that is responsible for the problem.
Do an antimalware check using programs like malwarebytes to clean every virus.
2) Check the used applications that have Facebook permissions.
One of the most common methods of hacking Facebook is the use of an application or game authorized to use the Facebook account. Go to your Account Settings, in the Apps section, and immediately delete all the apps you are not using.
READ ALSO: Recover Facebook login and password if you no longer log in
