Having social media software for managing users' privacy settings, and security settings, and keeping track of recent news and marketing opportunities can provide a great way to keep in touch with family, and friends, and stay updated on recent news. However, it is important to abide by these settings to keep information safe.
When social media is used improperly, it can introduce several risks to a person's personal information, as online criminals are devising new and in-depth methods for exploiting vulnerabilities more frequently than ever before.
There are many things users need to know about keeping their Facebook, X and Instagram accounts secure - from finding out how accounts are hacked, to recovering accounts.
When fraudsters gain access to the details of the users' accounts, they can take advantage of their contacts, sell their information on the dark web, and steal the identity of the users.
According to reports by Action Fraud, some victims of email and social media hacking have been forced into extortion by criminals who have stolen their private photos and videos and used them to extort them.
9 out of 10 of the people who participated in the survey (89%) stated that they knew or were aware of people whose profiles had been compromised, and 28% said they knew at least five to ten people who had been hacked.
The survey found that 15 per cent of the respondents knew someone who was hacked on social media more than ten times.
With 76% of respondents indicating they have increased concerns within the last year compared to the previous year, it appears that the fears are growing.
What scammers do to hack accounts
Online users' accounts can be accessed in a variety of ways by fraudsters to gain access to their money.
The hacked account user may be wondering how they managed to gain access to one of their accounts if they discover that one of theirs has been hacked.
There are times when hackers gain access to a system which carries highly confidential data about a person and causes the system to be breached. This information is then used by fraudsters to gain access to accounts that have been compromised.
Phishing attacks are designed to entice users into divulging their details by impersonating legitimate companies and containing links that lead them to malicious websites that can harvest their data. As a result, users may end up downloading malicious code to the devices they use to steal their information once they enter the information on the website.
A chain hack which takes place on a social media platform involves a fraudster posting links to dubious websites in the comment section of a post. After the victim clicks on the link, the fraudster will then ask them to enter their social media account details. This will allow the fraudster access to the victim's account information. It has been reported that fraudsters are known to send messages to victims impersonating one of their contacts in an attempt to get them to share their two-factor authentication code with them.
Hackers who use credentials they have previously been successful in obtaining access to other accounts belonging to a particular person are known as credential stuffers.
When a scammer watches a user log into an account while an account is being used, they are shoulder surfing the user.
It is possible to download a malicious app to the users' phones, which will, in turn, install malware onto their devices, enabling the fraudster to steal the username and password for their account and use it to steal users' money.
When users' accounts have been hacked, take precautions to avoid recovery scammers contacting them on social media and saying they can retrieve their accounts for them if only they would follow their instructions. This is just another scam that they cannot fall victim to, and they would not be able to do this.
Find out who to contact to get help with a hacked account by going to the help page of the account provider.
All devices must be logged out of the users' accounts as well as their passwords must be changed on all devices. Please examine to ascertain the presence of any newly instituted protocols or configurations within users' email accounts, which may have been established without their explicit authorization.
These modifications could potentially dictate the redirection of emails about their accounts. It is incumbent upon users to promptly notify their contacts of a potential security breach and advise them to exercise caution, as any received messages may not be legitimately sent by them.
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