Social media account hacks are getting more prevalent as the number of users on these platforms rises everyday. On certain social media networks, user profiles are hacked more frequently than on others.
Instagram users suffered the most from account takeover in 2021, according the statistics provided by the Atlas VPN team. 84% of people who had their social media accounts hacked said that criminals had taken control of their Instagram accounts.The fourth most popular social media platform in the world is Instagram, which has over 1.4 billion monthly active users.
The information is based on responses to a snap poll taken by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) of people who said they had experienced social media account takeover in 2021. The 2022 Consumer Impact Report includes information on the poll.
25% of those who were the victims of social media takeovers said that malevolent actors had also taken control of their Facebook profiles. Only 3% of victims of social media account takeovers reported the incident on Twitter, with WhatsApp coming in at 1% and LinkedIn at 1%. 68% of victims in total still don’t have access to their social media accounts. Cybercriminals highly prize social media accounts because they include a plethora of personal data that may be exploited to conduct fraud, such as the user’s complete name, email address, phone number, birth date, physical address, photographs, and private messages.
By posting false information, sending harmful links to the victim’s contact list, and requesting personal information from their friends, a social media account that has been hacked may be used to take over even more accounts.
In order to recover the stolen account, the malicious actors may potentially demand payment from the account owner. 22% of the victims reported receiving a demand for money.Several internet accounts, including online banking accounts, which may contain even more sensitive information, may be accessed via social network accounts, such as Facebook. Additionally, thieves might use the dark web to sell hacked social media accounts. A hacked Twitter account may be purchased on the dark web for $10, an Instagram account for $12, a Facebook account for $14, and a WhatsApp account for $18. A LinkedIn account, meanwhile, is available for purchase for $45.
Top Ways Hackers Gain Access To Social Media Accounts :
Malicious actors use a variety of strategies to deceive victims into handing up their sensitive data, money, or social media accounts. Being a “friend” is a good fraud ruse since people are more relaxed when speaking with individuals they know. A link in a direct message from a friend was clicked by nearly half (49%) of social media account takeover victims before they lost control of their accounts, according to the report.
Additionally, to entice unwary victims and steal their personal information and accounts, cybercriminals employ “get-rich-quick” scams. Twenty percent (20%) of victims on social media who fell for cryptocurrencies and other investment scams lost control of their accounts to hackers. Furthermore, more than a tenth (13%) of victims of social media account takeovers gave up personal information, such as 2FA codes, PINs, and one-time passwords, which caused them to lose access to their social media accounts.
While most victims had their social media accounts taken over as a result of clicking on a link shared by a friend, 5% of victims had this happen as a result of clicking on a link supplied by an unknown individual but recommended to them by a friend.Another method that hackers employ to trick their victims is the combination of spoof websites and promotional offers. After entering their username and password on false login screens, 3% of victims had their accounts frozen by hackers. To benefit from a promotion, they were asked to check in.
What To Do If Your Social Media Account Got Hijacked:
- Use Two-factor authentication and make sure all of your online accounts have unique passwords in order to prevent hackers from accessing your social media accounts.
- Even if a message appears to be coming from someone you know, you should still be wary of any communications that ask for your personal information or contain links. To verify that they truly gave you the message, you may always phone that person or contact them in another method.
- Additionally, you ought to exercise caution when you receive communications via social media offering you offers or investment plans.
- What if, though, your social network account has already been compromised?
If You’re Still Able To Log Into Your Account:
- Run a malware check on your device, and if any questionable software is found, remove it.
- Change your social media account password right away to prevent the hacker from changing it. Change the password for any further online accounts you may have if you still use the same one.
- Set up second-factor authentication to bolster your account’s security.
- To stop hackers from using your account to perpetrate more fraud, check your account for any odd messages or posts you didn’t make and delete them.
- In the event that scammers have contacted your friends on your behalf, let them know your account has been hacked.
- To lessen the possibility of bad actors exploiting software vulnerabilities, keep your software, such as your social networking applications, updated.
Check your bank records for any suspicious charges or withdrawals and keep an eye out for any inaccuracies on your tax return or social security statement if your account contains sensitive information. You may also use programmes like Atlas VPN Data Breach Monitor, which searches databases that have been disclosed to the public for your login information and notifies you if it has been compromised so you can take prompt action.
Most of the aforementioned advice still holds true even if you no longer have access to your social media accounts. However, you need also notify the social networking site about the account takeover.Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram all offer tips on what to do if your account has been hacked. Contact their help if the social media site where your account was hijacked does not provide any advice for such situations.