Facebook Account Hacked? What To Do In Case Of Spam And Attacks

Has your Facebook wall ever been flooded with spam? Have you ever realized with horror that your profile has been spamming your entire Friends list? Have you ever tried to log in to your account only to find your access has been blocked by a third party?

All too often we read about some new hacking scheme or scam attack striking Facebook users en masse. While the social network constantly works to strengthen its security features, it's important to know what to do in case your account is compromised.

Check out our 9 tips for recovering from various Facebook scams and hacks. Vote for the most helpful tips, and share your suggestions in the comments (below). Then, just so you know what you're up against, check out our slideshow of 9 common Facebook scams.

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Change Your Password

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If you fell victim to a phishing scheme or another hack attack, it's likely that someone else has obtained your password and is using it to access your account. You'll need to change your login credentials ASAP. Visit Facebook's Account Settings to do this. Remember, don't reuse passwords on different accounts and the more complex the password, the safer you'll be.

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If you fell victim to a phishing scheme or another hack attack, it's likely that someone else has obtained your password and is using it to access your account. You'll need to change your login credentials ASAP. Visit Facebook's Account Settings to do this. Remember, don't reuse passwords on different accounts and the more complex the password, the safer you'll be.

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Comments

[Treon]

06:41 PM on 07/13/2011

ive been on facebook for 3 years, never had a problem [:
one of my friends did though haha

[afnfan]

10:21 AM on 06/20/2011

Who cares if your facebook account get's hacked into, if people did not have privet profiles, than their would be no reason to even hack someone’s profile. If you are so concerned about getting hacked in to than do not upload any personal information or use the site at all, isn't that the risk you take when you use these websites. They should not block/ban any website from bring posted not have any captchas before posting links, they are a social media networking website, NOT a website to tell a user this site is safe or not safe. You also should read the Terms of Service when you signup, you might be surprised.

Why is it that we do not hear anything about MySpace.com? I have to give MySpace a lot of credit after all since they do not get any free advertisement, and they post ads on their website, unlike Facebook that gets free advertisement and then post ads so no wonder how can donate money and look so good.

[healthed123]

11:40 PM on 06/01/2011

Facebook is the best networking tool ever invented. Have a odd ball interest and no one within a hundred miles to relate to with it? You'll find plenty of people with the same interest. Doesn't matter if it is collecting stamps or rescuing elephants, facebook connects you to people you have more in common with than the boring local friends and what they just ate for breakfast. Good things are being accomplished on Fb by activists for their causes and campaigns. It's also the easiest Complaint Dept. to get to any business and those businesses react quicker too since a whole boat load of people see the complaint. Consumers in no uncertain terms tell a business what they like and don't - marketing is done for the business by the customer, no need to pay a marketing firm. It's a superb way to disseminate information and teach. There are so many uses to fb.

[Jenna Bean]

03:17 PM on 05/26/2011

lol McAfee

[bkerensa]

09:14 PM on 05/25/2011

These steps will only do so much... What if a user gets malware that makes them like 30,000 spam pages? Do you honestly expect them to manually unlike all those pages?

Facebook needs more straightforward tools for mass deletion of spam posts from your own wall and for unliking stuff. I personally have never been hacked on FB although that comes with good security practices of changing my password regularly, using strong passwords, NOT using Windows and limiting access to my laptop.

[IDIOTA]

05:12 PM on 05/25/2011

If your account gets hacked, then your password could get changed, too. Also, your email address might be hackable once it is discovered. Facebook is Spybook -- my son's ex has proven that -- she hacked.

[zenbamboo]

01:46 PM on 05/25/2011

Get rid of all your facebook apps. All of them, no matter how benign they seem. If you carefully read the user agreements on them in the first place you would be shocked and horrified if you really thought about what most of them want to do, even the friendly ones. Most of them want access to all of your friends information as well as yours. In real world terms if a friend of mine gave my phone number, email, or mailing address to a stranger or telemarketer I would put that friend on notice!

[StopMakingSense2]

12:39 PM on 05/25/2011

What to do? Get a life!

[AaronMLong]

11:40 AM on 05/25/2011

The FIRST thing you should do when attempting to recover after a security violation is ensure that the terminal you're working from is, itself, secure. Make sure you're virus free and operating from a private network connection. It would do you little good to change the passwords to your online accounts if a keylogger is installed on the machine you executed the changes on.

[exitBxC]

11:14 AM on 05/25/2011

I have 100% fool proof way to prevent such, I don't have nor will ever have an account. But how will people know what I ate for lunch today!

[Treon]

06:41 PM on 07/13/2011

twitter.

[sb250guy]

11:09 AM on 05/25/2011

Well, I'd recommend not using Facebook to begin with. I resisted setting up a Facebook page for a long time. Many people pestered me to start one. I finally did. I put up some photos. I made my profile. I contacted everyone I've ever known.

Now I know why I haven't contacted all of those people for years. I don't know them anymore and I don't care what they are doing this weekend. Their kids don't amuse me. And seeing their every thought (as they think it) on my "wall" is about as interesting as eating paper. I haven't yet closed my Facebook account but I simply stopped going there. I guess I should close it. I hate it.

[Stuzzadelic]

11:06 AM on 05/25/2011

Can't you just cancel your account?

[erie]

10:53 AM on 05/25/2011

How about building a non-text based "friends" list and get on with a life that includes those you can actually have a relationship with?

[Tacking it Easy]

10:56 AM on 05/25/2011

Because sometimes you're in the military and it's nice to see pictures and know what's going on with your friends and family overseas. Just a humble man's opinion.

[erie]

11:01 AM on 05/25/2011

True. A bit quick on the draw on my part.

[dayzee10]

10:50 AM on 05/25/2011

I must be an oldtimer...but why would you voluntarily put your life,private thoughts and activities out for all to see?

[John Scarbrough]

03:43 PM on 05/25/2011

It's called being alive! It's called civilization. It's called having at least one friend in the world who might care what you think and how you are doing. Don't blame your age, surely you have one or two thoughts to share with us.

[DragonFly]

10:49 AM on 05/25/2011

I'm still trying to understand what the big attraction is to Facebook.

The potential for sharing meaningful information is there - but mostly what I've seen is stagnant chatter and adverts.