The chances of your Instagram, X, Facebook, Amazon, Threads, Rumble, Twitch or other accounts getting taken over by spammy bots and data-stealing thieves have never been higher. So, don’t sit there all smug, thinking, “Oh, Kim, that could never happen to me!”
Freebie alert: I’m giving away my latest ebook, “50 Smart Ways to Use AI” (a $9.95 value). Hope it helps you!
A lot of the advice you find online about hacked social media sites and profiles is just plain wrong or, worse, leads to a scammer who promises to get your account back but really just steals your money. Keep reading for advice you can trust.
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Step 1: Sign out on every device
It’s alarming to think about someone else’s hands all over your social media account, posting crap on your page. Fully sign out of your account on every device you’re logged in.
Pro tip: Under the Settings section in every social app, you’ll see a list of all (or the most recent) devices signed in. On Facebook, for instance, just click your profile picture > Settings & privacy > Activity log > Where you’re logged in.
This step will often boot more casual hackers piggybacking on automatic sign-ins. They’ll get asked for passwords they don’t have and won’t be able to log in again, so they can’t spam your peeps. But don’t stop here!
In the social media age, anyone can become a victim of account hacking or identity theft at any time. (iStock)
Step 2: Change your password
Log into your account on one device and change your password. The account or settings page will have that option, like here on Instagram. If hackers did get your password (maybe from a massive data breach), this will lock them out.
You know the drill: Replace your old password with a strong one. Make it at least 12 characters with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Better yet, have a password manager come up with a great one for you.
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Step 3: Report the hack
Now, hackers should be mostly locked out of your socials. Before you take a deep breath, though, report the hack. This way, your social media platform can help you roll back your hacked messages and freeze your account until you’re sure everything is safe.
Account hacking is so bad, some social media sites have dedicated pages to report the problem. Here’s Facebook’s hacked page, and, no surprise, there’s also an Instagram hacked page and X’s questionnaire.
Different apps come with different steps to safeguard your account. (CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)
Step 4: Check for surprise changes
No one likes cleaning the house, but it has to be done. Jump over to your account settings and check for any funny business, like:
- Fake messages or posts: Get rid of them.
- Connected devices: Hackers add their own devices for easy access to your accounts. Give them the boot.
- Third-party apps: A hacker may have installed a few new apps to track you or steal your data while your account was compromised. Remove them.
- Linked accounts: They also may have grabbed a bunch of bots or stalker-looking accounts as followers. Bye-bye.
- Your profile photos: Make sure it’s you and not some hot Russian woman.
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Step 5: One last thing
Phew, you’re almost done. Be sure to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for your account. You can get a code via text, but it’s more secure to use an authenticator app. Steps here if you’re new to the 2FA game.
FYI, you can only get 2FA on X if you pay for its $8 monthly Premium service. Annoying.
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If you run into any trouble with these steps …
… Or if a hacker got your account suspended, call the social media platform. Keep in mind these companies don’t care about you, so they really don’t want to help you. You’ll have to be persistent. Here’s a list of popular tech numbers. Do not search on Google for these phone numbers.
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