Social Account Take-Overs!

*What is an account takeover?*

1) It's when an unauthorized person uses your account for their own purposes

2) Sometimes they lock you out of your account completely

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*How do you know if your friend's account was taken over?*

1) You might get another friend request from them

2) You might get a strange request for money or be urged to do something for free money

3) The writing style, tone and/or vocabulary does not match your friend's

4) Their spelling or grammar is poor

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*How do I check whether a friend request really is fake?*

1) Reach out to your friend through email, phone or some other non-Facebook method

2) If the original account still exists, use that account to warn your friend

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*Besides impersonating you, what else can someone do with your Facebook account?*

1) They can take over your business page

2) They can access your data - friends list, messages, address, phone number, etc

3) They can connect your account to malicious apps and websites

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*What are some steps to take if your account is taken over?*

1) *If you can still get in,* change your password immediately, then log out of all devices

2)* If you cannot get in,* use the option to recover your username/password, such as entering your email address or phone number

3) Report the incident to the platform

4) Warn your friends about the takeover so they don't accept a fake friend request

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*How can I protect myself from an account takeover?*

Nothing is guaranteed, but try these:

1) Delete all social media accounts you no longer use, as they may still be associated with an old email address someone else may begin using

2) Keep your recovery email addresses and phone numbers up to date

3) Use strong passwords

4) Don't use the same passwords for all accounts or for the recovery email account

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*How do I choose a secure password?*

1) Try a password generator. You'll get a crazy password like x7gaF*QutEph$Tik&t4o, but no one will guess it!

2) If that's too daunting, here's another idea: think of a sentence at least eight words long, and use the first or last letter of each word, followed by a number and a symbol, if the platform allows it. Mix up the capitalization. An example: "I am truly the best damned parent ever" iaTtbdPe02#

3) Stay away from easy passwords like *123456,* *password,* and *qwerty* and dictionary words - they are easily guessed by scammers

4) Stay away from birth dates, names, social security numbers and other obvious info linked to you

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---THE TAKEAWAY--

• NEVER ACCEPT A DUPLICATE/SUSPICIOUS FRIEND REQUEST OR MESSAGE - check with your friend

through email/phone/in person first

• REPORT SECURITY ISSUES TO THE PLATFORM and have your friends do it, too (the more, the merrier)

• WARN YOUR FRIENDS about the scam account and ask them to report it as well (the more voices, the better)

• USE STRONG PASSWORDS and CHANGE 

THEM REGULARLY

• KEEP YOUR RECOVERY EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER UP TO DATE

• USE TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION FOR EMAIL AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS (edited) 

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