I’M LOCKED OUT OF FACEBOOK!

My Facebook account was hacked and thieves are using it talking to my friends as if it’s me.

My friend’s Facebook account was hacked so I thought I was talking to my friend, I gave out all my details, they managed to create a new password and logged me out.

Now they are giving away a Whatsapp phone number so that people can make Orange Money and send them money. They are updating Facebook status using my Facebook account; as soon as my friends reply, they ask them to send P1,000 to that Orange Money number.

I don’t have access any more, they changed the password, deleted my email address and phone numbers, which were linked to the Facebook account, so I can’t reset the password because there is no how the reset code can be sent.

Who can help me trace the number?

I’m sorry, I don’t have any good news to give you. What you’ve experienced is a very common thing these days. People voluntarily give away their Facebook ID and password and before long their account has been hijacked like yours. The scammers who do this can then pretend to be you and contact all your friends trying to scam them.

Why do people do this? Why do they hand over their details? They do so most often because they’ve been offered money. If you’re on Facebook, you’ll have seen posts offering prizes for answering the silliest of questions. When you answer the question, hoping to win the prize, the scammer demands access to your Facebook profile to “validate” your prize. They then try to sign on to your Facebook account, clicking the button for when you’ve forgotten your password. When Facebook send you the OTP code, the scammers will ask for it and then they’re in. They’ll immediately change the password and you’re locked out. Forever.

Just think what a scammer can learn about you from your Facebook profile. It’s not only your posts they can see, it’s also all of your private messages, the images you’ve shared and exchanged, and who knows what else. Would you be comfortable with a total stranger having access to all of this?

Unfortunately, the only practical solution is to create another Facebook profile. And to be much more careful in future.