Avoid Facebook Phishing Schemes
In recent months, I have noticed a huge increase in the number of Facebook accounts hacked or hijacked by hackers using Facebook phishing. To understand this, let’s first take a quick look at why Facebook accounts have become such a big target for hackers.
Why are Facebook accounts being hacked?…
Facebook now has over 500 million users and provides such incredible demographic information that advertisers now turn to it for targeted advertising. The same affiliate marketers who previously resorted to email spam and blog comment spam to force their message out to the public have now discovered that by hijacking Facebook accounts, they can send their marketing message to the friends and connections of the headlines. of those accounts. These “spam” messages are more likely to be seen, read, or even clicked on, because they appear to come from a trusted source (the original account holder).
How exactly are these Facebook accounts being hacked and hijacked?…
This is really just a new delivery method for an old phishing scheme. Phishing occurs when you enter your login credentials on a fake Facebook login page or download malicious software onto your computer. This may result in messages or links being automatically sent to a large number of your friends. These messages or links are usually advertisements that encourage your friends to watch videos or products.
The hacker sets up a fake Facebook profile and sends hundreds of friend requests and waits for the requests to be accepted. Once some are accepted, they send misleading messages through Facebook chat or by posting on the wall of their new Facebook friends. These messages appear as an incentive like…
“hey what exactly are you doing in this video (click here)…so embarrassing…”
“This website has some kind of bug and is giving away iPads. Get there fast before you miss it (click here)…”
The above examples would include a link to a page that appears to be a Facebook account login screen. The user assumes they were logged out for some reason (which occasionally happens) and re-enters their Facebook username and password. What they don’t realize is that the page didn’t belong to Facebook and they simply gave their username and password to a hacker.
Once the hacker has collected the user’s Facebook account credentials, he simply logs into the account, changes the password and starts sending affiliate program advertisements as well as further invitations to reveal his account information. This process continues to spread because people are simply not aware.
How to prevent your Facebook from being hacked…
It’s really quite simple to prevent your Facebook account from being hijacked. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Never, ever give your Facebook username and password to anyone.
2. Whenever you’re on a Facebook login screen, make sure you’re logging in to an official Facebook page. If you are ever unexpectedly shown a login screen, simply close your browser and open a new one. Then navigate back to Facebook.com and sign in.
3. Share this post with as many people as you can. The more people realize this, the less effective hackers will be, after all, knowledge is power.
What to do if your Facebook account has already been hacked or you suspect it may have been “phishing”…
1. If your computer has been infected with a virus or malware, you will need to run antivirus software to remove these harmful programs and keep your information safe.
2. If you can access your Facebook account, please change or reset your account password as soon as possible to block any external access to your account.
3. If your account has been banned or suspended due to phishing or spamming, your best option is to simply start a new profile. I’ve heard from many that trying to get Facebook to reactivate an account is a useless lesson.
