My Facebook account has been hacked [2023] 💥

November 22, 2023 | by: Martijn Assie | NL DE

If you suspect that your Facebook account has been compromised, you should immediately change your password. Follow these steps if you don't have access to Facebook.

Hackers are attracted to Facebook and its 2 billion users. While some of the most successful hacks make the news, others are less well-known and only affect a small number of Facebook users.

1. Suspicious things that can indicate your account was hacked

Your password or email address has been changed
You have had your name and/or birthday changed.
Fake friend requests were sent from your account, to people you do not know.
People who are already your friends have received friend requests.
You appear to have created posts that you did not create.
Friends get messages from you that they didn't send.

2. How do hackers hack your account?

The most common ways are reusing passwords, with use of keyloggers, just answering security questions, using your stolen phone or computer, you good have left a public PC logged in and they also use social engineering. No matter how they got your Facebook credentials, it is important to act quickly to minimize the damage and prevent further hacks.

3. Reporting the hack to Facebook

You can report a hack to the company if you are unable to recover your Facebook password or access your account.

Open Facebook's Compromise Account page.
Click "My Account Is Compromised".
Click "Search" to enter the email address or phone number associated with your account.
Click "Continue" to enter your password, either an old or current one.
Click "Continue" to select one of the options that indicates why you believe your account was hacked.
Facebook informs you that you must change your password and confirm that any recent changes made to your account were made by you. This will ensure that your account remains secure. Click "Get Started".
Follow these instructions to change your password and secure your account.

4. Delete apps you did not install

You must delete any Facebook apps that you do not recognize. You can also delete apps that you don't use anymore. You may have given the apps access at some point to your personal information.

Click the arrow at the top right to open the Facebook menu.
Click "Settings".
From the left pane, click "Apps and Websites".
Click "Remove" on the box beside the Facebook apps that you wish to delete.
On the confirmation prompt, click "Remove". You can also delete any post, photo or video that was posted by the apps on your behalf.

Click "View and Edit" on an app to see the access level and information Facebook shares with it. You will also find "Apps, Website" pages and additional tabs at top. These include expired apps (apps which had access once but have since lapsed their permissions) and past apps (which were removed from your account).

Apps that have been removed or deleted still have information about them during their active status, but you can't access this information through your Facebook account once they are removed or expire. Clicking on the tile to see the expiring or removed app will show you how to ask the app to delete your data.

5. Informing friends

Inform your Facebook friends about the hacking of your account. Inform your Facebook friends not to click on any links from your account that were sent during the hack. Hackers may have posted to your friend's pages, sent links in comments, or privately messaged you.

You can take certain measures to prevent future hacks like 2-factor authentication, regularly changing your password, using very strong passwords, and of course use Facebook's special security check up. You should also check if other social accounts like for example your Youtube were hacked.