How to recover a hacked facebook profile
While Facebook seems to take security relatively seriously, it’s still easy to lose access to your account if a hacker has targeted it. If someone can figure out your password or gains access to your account through social engineering, it can be devastating – both for you and your connections on Facebook. It is hard to find the best resource for regaining access to a hacked Facebook account, so we have compiled most of the information that we know to help you recover it on your own.
What should you do if someone hacks your Facebook account? Below are the steps you can take to recover your hacked Facebook account.
1. Act Immediately
Password Recovery EmailIf you receive an email like this and haven’t tried to reset your password, you should immediately save your account.
If you receive an email from Facebook about suspicious behavior, you need to take action straight away. The longer that a person has access to your account, the more likely it is that they’ll be able to change key information that makes it harder for you to win back control.
2. Change your Facebook password
If you can still access your account, then the first step should be to change your password.
Log into your Facebook account, click the dropdown arrow at the top of the screen, then select ‘Settings.’
Facebook – Setting
Now click ‘Settings.’
In your account settings, click ‘Security and login’ on the left side of the screen.
Facebook – Security MenuImage 3 of Facebook password tutorial. | Source: Hacked/W.S.Worrall
Facebook – Security PageImage 4 of Facebook password tutorial. | Source: Hacked/W.S.Worrall
Please enter your current password and your new password twice to confirm it. We recommend using a password generator and password manager for security.
Change Password Image 5 of Facebook password tutorial. | Source: Hacked/W.S.Worrall
We also advise you to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) that enhances your account security by adding a two-step verification system. This makes your account almost unhackable. Be sure to add your phone number and use the SMS-verification system, not an app verification system. If you lose your phone and your verification app, you might not be able to log back into your Facebook profile.
Not able to log in to your hacked Facebook account?
If the hacker has managed to change your password and the email associated with your Facebook account, there are still ways to recover your Facebook. It’s even possible to recover a Facebook profile if the hacker has added a Two-Factor Authenticator.
Be aware, due to the pandemic response time from Facebook has increased. Some clients get a response from Facebook after 30+ days (if you’ve uploaded your ID or submitted a form to Facebook). Some support requests are even ignored, while other clients receive a message saying that Facebook is only able to help in the most urgent cases due to being understaffed.
The best solution to recover any Facebook account is to read all the different security email notifications received from Facebook and try to follow their instructions. Click on the links in emails received from the sender “Facebook” or “facebookmail.com.” If none of the links like “Secure your account” or “Change your password” help, try to follow our Facebook recovery tutorial below.
1. Password Recovery
If your password is no longer working and you suspect someone has changed it, then your next step is to use Facebook’s account recovery options.
Go to the Facebook login page and click ‘Forgotten password?’
Facebook – RecoveryImage 1 of account recovery tutorial. | Source: Hacked/W.S.Worrall
Enter an email address or phone number associated with your account and click ‘Search.’
Facebook – Account
Choose whether to log in via your email, Google account, or telephone number, then click ‘Continue.’
Account Recovery
Enter the code you received via text or email and click ‘Continue.’
Entertr your new password and click ‘Continue’ to confirm.
2. Family and Friends Recovery
If you can’t recover the account yourself, a friend or family member can help you recover the account instead.
Have your friend log in and go to the profile you need to recover. Click the three dots under the profile name, and select ‘Find support or report profile.’
On the report window, select ‘I can’t access my account,’ then click ‘Next.’
Facebook – Friend RecoveryImage 2 of friend recovery tutorial. | Source: Hacked/W.S.Worrall
Click ‘Recover this account
Click ‘No longer have access to these?’ at the bottom of the window.
Enter an email address or phone number you currently have access to, then click ‘Continue’ to get in contact with someone from Facebook Support.
3. Report it to Facebook
If none of the other methods are working, you should report the hacked account directly to Facebook.
Go to the hacked account report page, and click ‘My Account Is Compromised.’
Enter your email address or phone number, then click ‘Search.’
Enter your most recent password and click ‘continue’ to report your account. Facebook may provide you further instructions to aid in account recovery.
Facebook may request that you upload a photograph of your ID to prove your identity.
4. Bypassing 2FA – Two-Factor Authentication
If the hacker has added a Two-Factor Authentication, it is still possible to bypass it. When you try to log in and you are prompted with the screen below, please click on “Need another way to authenticate.” Then the following pop up should appear:
2FA option on Facebook
You can then click on “Submit a request to Facebook.” It will then ask you to fill in the name of your account, the name of your mobile carrier, your full name, and then it will ask you to upload a governmental approved ID. Once you have submitted this form, you should receive a response within 48 hours to one week. However, due to the pandemic, Facebook is using more time to verify your uploaded ID. Some of our clients have received emails from Facebook telling them that they could not review their ID due to being understaffed. If this happens to you, you should keep uploading your ID on a weekly basis until they are able to verify your ID.
Facebook Recovery Links
Here are the best Facebook recovery links to try to gain access to your hacked Facebook account:
facebook.com/recover/initiate
facebook.com/login/identify
facebook.com/hacked
If you’ve recovered your Facebook account, you should follow our account security guide to keep it safe.