This article follows on from Part 1, in which I discussed how hackers can obtain your Facebook password.
Most times people believe their account has been hacked, but it’s been simply “duplicated”.
What happens is a hacker will duplicate all key parts of your profile, and if they are particularly determined (and have access), a lot of your previous posts.
Once they have a fresh new Facebook account setup they will then send friend requests to your existing contacts. After that they are in your inner circle and can start insidious activities as a trusted person.
So how to stop this?
First and most importantly, if you receive a friend request from an existing friend, send them a message, to their original account, asking if they have setup a new account.
Secondly, ensure your privacy settings are correct.
I’m surprised how I often click on a profile of someone “suggested” by Facebook, to find I can see every post they have made back to when they opened their account. This makes it incredibly easy for a hacker to duplicate your account. I personally don’t want every random seeing pictures of me and my kids for the last 10 years.
I strongly encourage you to check your settings and ensure they are what you’d expect. If in doubt use a dummy Facebook account and see what your “non-friends” see of your account.
Even more importantly, use the above process on your children’s accounts, if they have one.
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