Facebook Account Hacked? How to Recover It and Secure Your Account
If your Facebook account is hacked, the safest starting point is Meta’s official account-recovery process. Meta advises people who believe their account has been compromised to visit facebook.com/hacked, preferably from a device they have previously used to sign in.
A hacked account can be more than an inconvenience. An attacker may impersonate you, message friends asking for money, take over a Page you manage or try to use saved business and advertising assets. Acting quickly can limit the damage.
Signs your Facebook account may have been compromised
Warning signs include a password you did not change suddenly failing, unfamiliar posts or messages, changes to your email address or phone number, login alerts from devices you do not recognise, or friends receiving unusual requests from your account.
One sign alone does not always prove a hack. For example, a failed login can simply mean you mistyped your password. But unexplained changes to account credentials deserve immediate attention.
Step 1: use Facebook’s official hacked-account recovery
Meta’s Help Center directs users to facebook.com/hacked when an account has been compromised.
Where possible, open the recovery process on a phone or computer you have used to log into Facebook before. A familiar device can help Facebook recognise your previous account activity.
Follow the prompts to identify your account and secure it. Avoid recovery links sent by unknown people through messages, comments or email.
Step 2: secure the email account connected to Facebook
Your email account can be a route into Facebook because password-reset links and security notifications may be sent there.
If you suspect the email itself has been compromised, change its password, review its active sessions and enable two-factor authentication. Use a password that is different from the one used on Facebook.
Step 3: change your Facebook password
If you still have access to Facebook, change the password to a strong, unique one. Do not simply add a number to an old password that has already been exposed.
A password manager can help you create and store unique passwords so a breach on one website does not automatically expose your Facebook account.
Step 4: review security settings and login activity
Meta provides account-security controls including login alerts and two-factor authentication. Review your security settings and remove access you do not recognise.
Also check whether contact information, Pages, business permissions or other account settings have been changed.
Step 5: enable two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication adds another verification step when someone attempts to access your account. Meta recommends it as an additional security layer.
It is especially useful for people who manage public Pages, advertising accounts or business assets because compromise can affect more than a personal profile.
Warn your contacts if the attacker impersonated you
If suspicious messages were sent from your account, tell friends, relatives or colleagues that your account was compromised. Ask them not to send money, share codes or open suspicious links received during that period.
This matters because account-takeover scams often exploit trust. A request appears to come from someone the victim already knows.
Never send money to an ‘account recovery expert’
Scammers sometimes reply to hacked-account complaints on social media and claim they can recover an account for a fee. They may ask for passwords, verification codes or remote access to your device.
Use Meta’s official recovery tools rather than handing account credentials to an unknown third party.
How phishing steals Facebook accounts
One common route is a fake login page. A message may claim your Page violated policy, your account will be disabled, or you must verify something urgently. The link then leads to a page designed to collect your login details.
Urgency is a warning sign. Instead of using the link in the message, open Facebook directly and check notifications inside your account.
What if the attacker changed your email or phone number?
Continue through Meta’s compromised-account recovery flow. Meta provides separate recovery guidance for people who can no longer access the email address or phone number normally used to log in.
Do not repeatedly submit sensitive documents to unofficial websites claiming to provide Facebook support.
Protect a Facebook Page you manage
If your profile manages a business or public Page, inspect Page access after recovering your personal account. Remove unknown people or permissions and check whether advertising or business settings were altered.
For organisations, more than one trusted administrator can help reduce dependence on a single person’s account, but each administrator should secure their own login.
A practical prevention checklist
- Use a unique Facebook password.
- Enable two-factor authentication.
- Turn on login/security alerts where available.
- Protect the email account attached to Facebook.
- Do not enter passwords after following suspicious links.
- Review Page and business permissions regularly.
- Keep your phone and browser updated.
Facebook hacking versus impersonation
A fake profile using your name and photographs is not necessarily evidence that your real account was hacked. Someone can copy publicly visible information and create an impersonating account.
In that situation, report the fake profile through Facebook’s impersonation-reporting process while also reviewing your own privacy and security settings.
Bottom line
If you think your Facebook account has been taken over, start with Meta’s official recovery process and secure the email account linked to Facebook. Once access is restored, review unfamiliar activity and strengthen authentication before returning to normal use.
Sources and verification
This guide was independently prepared from Meta’s official Facebook Help Center guidance on hacked-account recovery and account security. Meta recommends facebook.com/hacked for compromised accounts and provides security features including login alerts and two-factor authentication.
Official account recovery
Meta’s Help Center directs people who believe their Facebook account was hacked to use its recovery process, preferably from a device they have used before.
