There is no doubt that the social networks they are a clear target for hackers. There are a lot of options available, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many more. A way to communicate with friends and family, inform us or even promote a business. Now, what signs can indicate that we have been attacked? Let’s show the main alerts for which action must be taken as soon as possible.
Signs of a social network under attack
It is important to detect a cyber attack as soon as possible. It does not matter if it is a theft of passwords, personal data or malware that has sneaked into the system. By detecting it as soon as possible we can take measures to prevent it from going further. For example, change the password quickly, run an antivirus, etc. Therefore, we are going to give some clear signs that a social network may have been attacked.
Messages you haven’t published
The first sign that they have been able to attack your Facebook account or any social network is that messages appear that you have not published. For example, a post about a product or brand, a retweet on Twitter that you have not made, an image that you have uploaded, etc. Attackers can attack social networks simply to send spam.
Therefore, if you see that there has been something unusual in your account and you have not put it, you should suspect that perhaps an attacker has had access. It could happen if you have been the victim of a Phishing attack or if you have even left the account open on a public computer without your knowledge.
read conversations
Something similar happens with conversations read on social networks. You can receive messages on Instagram or Facebook and they will stay there until you open them. Once opened, it is already marked as read. Do you see a message as read and it wasn’t you? It is another clear alert that someone has been able to enter your account.
This happens with any social network, but also when using email or messaging applications. In all these cases you will see when a message is opened or not. A way of having control over what you receive and not leaving something unread, but also that it will tell you if someone has been able to enter.
You follow accounts you don’t know
Maybe you have started follow accounts without you doing it. For example profiles of products, brands or companies. Even real users, since they could be using your personal account to send messages to others and carry out attacks without the victim being suspicious by receiving them from an apparently secure account.
If you have seen that you have started to follow an account that you do not know, whether on Facebook, Twitter or any other social network, you should be alert and see if they have been able to access your account fraudulently. You will need to take action as soon as possible to protect it, but also to protect third parties who may be receiving messages. Otherwise you could have privacy problems on social networks.
Strange login emails
Usually when there is a suspicious or fraudulent login, the social network itself sends us an alert email. Therefore, if you have received an e-mail indicating that there has been a login that you have not made, it could be the sign that someone has been able to enter your account without your permission.
In addition, this e-mail usually includes data such as the place where the session has been started and the IP address. You will have information that can clearly help you detect any irregularity and take action as soon as possible so that it does not affect you anymore.
Password doesn’t work
Of course, another clear warning sign is that you try to enter a social network and the password doesn’t work. You will see that an error message appears indicating that you do not have access, that the name or password is wrong. This is undoubtedly an indicator that something is wrong and that they have been able to steal your password.
Sometimes it is simply a false alarm, since there may be a problem with the server of that social network or that you are even putting the data wrong. But first you should take steps to confirm if your password could really have been stolen, change it as soon as possible, and enable two-factor authentication if you haven’t.
In short, these are the main signs that will tell you that your social networks have been stolen. It is essential that you take action as soon as possible once you suspect that your passwords have been stolen.
