Facebook account can be hacked if it is not properly handled or protected. Of course, it is no longer a news that there have been a lot of complaints in the past years about the issue of Facebook accounts getting hacked. In this post, I will personally show you the best ways to avoid being hacked on Facebook.
First, do you even know why Facebook accounts get hacked most of the time?
You may be wondering why someone would want to forcefully gain access to your social media account which contains no financially-related information. Well, I will tell you. Facebook hackers believe that most of your personal details are on your profile. Therefore, if they could get hold of your profile, they can now use it for their selfish purposes.
Let us take a deeper look at some of the reasons why your social media accounts are a goldmine to hackers and how to avoid being hacked on Facebook.
Why Facebook Accounts Get Hacked.
One of the major reasons why hackers target your FB account is to get hold of your personal information which they can now use to bypass your banks’ security questions. In order words, they can use some of your personal details like your date of birth, Mother’s maiden name, your favourite pet, book author, your hobbies etc. to answer the security questions you set earlier with your credit card company or your internet banking account.
They can also use your Facebook account as an avenue to lure your friends into clicking suspicious links which might get them hacked as well.
Aside from the points mentioned, there are actually a lot of reasons why Facebook profiles get hacked. Therefore, it is very important to make it extremely secure using all the tips listed below.
How to Avoid Getting Hacked on Facebook.
These are some of the preventive measures to take in order to secure your Facebook account against theft.
1. Don’t put everything on Facebook
Most people don’t usually care when sharing all their personal information on Facebook. Be mindful of some of the details you share on your public profile. In short, keep it minimal.
2. Carefully choose your Facebook friends
One of the smartest things to do is to always check the profiles of anyone who sent you a friend request on Facebook. That way, you can judge if the account is genuine.
If the profile looks suspicious, such person should not be your friend and must be ignored or deleted immediately.
3. Do not click suspicious links
A lot of time, I have personally reported profiles that share malware to Facebook hack support department for deletion. If someone sent you a link which appears like a trap or luring, just report that profile and you will be amazed how Facebook will treat it in your favour.
4. Safeguard your credentials.
Do you know that passwords are meant to be private? Yes, they are! Therefore, It is wrong to share your passwords with anyone even trusted friends. I advise you to change your Facebook passwords often and don’t write them down, instead try and memorize them so that they don’t fall into the wrong hands someday. You can generate a strong password on LastPass website for all your social media accounts and internet profiles.
5. Make sure you are on Facebook.
Each time you visit Facebook, check the site URL to ensure it either https://facebook.com or https://m.facebook.com. If it is anything other than that, it might be a clone of the Facebook website set up to phish your passwords for hackers. So, be careful not to enter your passwords in such sites. If you are not using the Facebook app yet, then download the app only from trusted sources like Google PlayStore for Android, the official iOS store for Apple devices or the Microsoft store if you are using a Windows phone.
6. Get protection for your device.
There are many utility software out there that can prevent you from being hacked on Facebook and save you from malicious wares (Malware). I will suggest you buy a good internet security software for your PC and mobile devices to ensure your safety on the internet.
7. Avoid using public computers
Only browse Facebook with your private computers and mobile phone. 6 out of 10 victims got hacked as a result of using a computer that isn’t theirs to log in to their Facebook account profiles.
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Since it is very difficult to find out who hacked your facebook profile after it’s been compromised, it is, therefore, important to implement these security measures in order to avoid getting your Facebook profile hacked.
I would really like to hear your opinion on this. Can you find out who hacked your facebook? You can contribute using the comment box below this post.