Many people even use Facebook to log in to other online services. Instead of remembering credentials for games and other popular sites, just log in through Facebook. But that comes with risks. With so many things linked to your account, what happens if you get locked out of Facebook? The unfortunate scenario is that you’ll automatically be denied access to the associated apps or services. Read on to find out what to do if your Facebook account has been hacked or you’re locked out.
Here’s the backstory
There are several ways to get locked out of your Facebook account, but arguably the most common is the dreaded forgotten password. With so many apps and services requiring us to log in, it can be difficult to keep track of all the usernames and passphrases. Luckily, there are ways that you can recover your password and regain access to your profile. If you are not in the mood to guess the password, simply click on the Forgotten Password link on the login screen. Facebook will then require you to enter the email address used during signup to search through its data. If your email address is found, the following screen will offer to send you a code to reset your password. If you don’t have access to that email address anymore, click on the “No longer have access to these?” link and follow the steps provided.
What if your Facebook account is hacked?
Plenty of Facebook users have gone through the experience of having their accounts hacked. Opportunistic attackers can try to guess your username and password or attempt to steal it through other methods. Once they have gained access to your account, the first thing that they’ll do is change the password so you can’t get back in. This is not a situation you want to be in, as hackers can steal personal data and access services linked to your account. The first thing that you need to do is to contact Facebook through this form. After selecting the option, Someone else got into my account without my permission, follow the steps provided. It can be tricky, but your options are limited when your account is hacked. You will also need to contact your bank if your credit card details are linked to your profile. You should ask your financial institution to put a block on it or remove the association with Facebook. Acting swiftly, you must remove any other apps connected to your Facebook account. Unless the hacker automatically logged you out of all services, you should be able to change the password for other apps like Instagram manually.
Worst case scenario for recovering your Facebook account
If all else fails, you could approach a professional recovery service specializing in getting social media accounts back to their rightful owners. A service like Hacked.com charges a rather hefty fee, but it will be refunded if they can’t get the job done. It costs $329 to recover a personal Facebook account and $899 for a business one. There are several steps that you can take to make sure that your account isn’t compromised:
Set up two-factor authentication (2FA) on your Facebook account. This makes it more difficult for your account to be hacked as the cybercriminals would need an extra piece of information to get into the account. Tap or click here for more details on 2FA.Take advantage of Facebook’s Privacy Checkup tool to ensure your account is secure. Go to Facebook’s Privacy Checkup on a computer and follow the onscreen instructions.
Tap or click here for more steps to protect your Facebook account.
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