How To Recover a Hacked Facebook Account

Facebook isn’t everyone’s go-to social network as it once used to be. Still you probably have pictures, contacts, and information on your profile that you wouldn’t want to lose access to. Being locked out of your Facebook account can cause some serious damage even to those who don’t use the platform on a daily basis. 

While Facebook is constantly improving their security features, your account can still get hacked. If you ever notice any suspicious activity coming from your Facebook account or simply can’t log into it, act quick. 

Here’s what you can to recover your hacked Facebook account if you think it’s been hacked. 

Also, be sure to check out our YouTube channel where we made a short video going over some tips to recover a your hacked Facebook account.

How Do You Know If You’ve Been Hacked?

There are quite a few different reasons why you might find yourself locked out of your Facebook account. Maybe you logged into Facebook on multiple devices, or someone reported your account as fake. In this case it’s better to assume the worst – that you’ve been hacked – and start taking the necessary steps to recover your account right away.

Some of the signs that that scammers got a hold of your account include:

• Your login details (email or password) have changed.
• Your Facebook name has changed.
• Your birthday on Facebook has changed. 
• Messages that you didn’t write were sent from your account.
• Posts that you didn’t write appear on your Facebook page. 
• Friend requests were sent to people you don’t know.

How To Recover Your Hacked Facebook Account

When you notice any of these things, assume that your account was hacked and act quickly to recover it.

Recover Your Facebook Account Using a Security Code

When your account details are being changed, you’ll get an email from Facebook notifying you about the changes. So if you receive an email saying your password has been changed and it wasn’t you, move quickly and get your account back using the security code. 

1. Use the link from the Facebook email, or go to the Facebook login page and click Forgotten Password? 

2. Enter your email address or phone number to locate your Facebook profile.

3. On the next page, choose how you want to receive the security code – via email or SMS – and click Continue.

4. When you receive the code, type it in and click Continue. Then you can reset your password. 

If you don’t have access to your associated email address or phone number, click No longer have access to these at the bottom of the Reset Your Password page and continue through these steps.

5. On the How can we reach you screen, enter a new email address or phone number that can be used to contact you. 

6. If you have an old Facebook account, you’ll then be prompted to answer a Security question. For new accounts Facebook uses a feature called Trusted Contacts. If you set up any 3 to 5 of your friends to be your trusted contacts, you can send them a special link to get the security code for you. You can then use it to regain access to your account. 

Regain Access To Your Account With Your Most Used Device

This method might not work for everyone, but it’s probably one of the easiest and quickest ways to recover your Facebook account.

1. Open Facebook on the device that you use most to login to the network. For better chances, use your home Wi-Fi network that Facebook can recognize as well.
2. Go to the login page and try to reset your password. 
3. If Facebook recognizes your device, you’ll be able to reset your password and recover your account without any further verification.

Recover Your Facebook Account With Identity Verification

The newest Facebook security feature yet that you can use to regain access to your account is Identity Verification. Here’s how to use it to recover a hacked Facebook account.

1. Open Facebook Help Center page to Verify Your Information. 
2. Fill in the form with your name, surname, email address, and date of birth.
3. Attach your government issued ID to the form. 
4. Click Send to submit your information.

Facebook will take 1-3 working days to review your information and send you the instructions on how to get back into your account. 

How To Secure Your Facebook Account

While you can’t eliminate the risk of your account being hacked completely, you can reduce it drastically by applying basic security practices when using Facebook.

Use a Strong Password

The best way to protect your account from hackers is to use a strong unique password. Make sure you don’t use the same one anywhere else online and don’t share it with other people. 

Don’t Share Your Login Information

Scammers use fake sites to get your personal information. Learn how to spot phishing attempts and make sure to check the sites URLs before entering your login details. 

Another good practice here is to always log out when using public computers or computers that you share with other people. Facebook also allows you to do that remotely through Security and login Settings. 

Enable Facebook Security Features

Facebook offers quite a few different tools and features that you can use to protect your account. They’re all available under Security and login Settings and include two-factor authentication, alerts about unrecognized logins, and trusted contacts. Make sure to enable all of them for maximum security. 

You can review your security settings at any time by going through a Facebook Security Checkup on your computer. 

Protect Your Facebook Account From Hackers

It’s much easier to take preventative measures to avoid future scams than spending time and effort trying to recover your hacked Facebook account. Learning how to stay on top of your privacy and security on Facebook and performing regular checks for malicious software can help you keep your accounts safe from any future hacking attempts. 

Have you ever had your Facebook account hacked? What did you do to gain back access to your account? Share your Facebook knowledge with us in the comment section below.