Monday night somebody hacked into my Facebook account. The hacker posted rude comments and also sent an e-mail to one of my accounts. It was very upsetting and my husband and I had to kick it into high gear to secure any other accounts that may have been affected. Soon we were checking his Facebook account, my e-mail accounts and even our bank account. I foolishly had the same password for both my e-mail accounts and my Facebook account. Luckily, our bank account information was separate. In August, MSNBC and other news sources reported that hackers are beginning to target social networking sites including both Facebook and Twitter and discussed recent incidents.
I decided to write this post to help others to remember that we are all vulnerable to identity theft. Thankfully the hacker seemed to only be focused on my Facebook account, but it could have been a lot worse. One of the main things to keep in mind is to continue to keep track of your passwords and change them frequently. I now have several different passwords for my accounts. Another thing to remember is your bank account. Make sure you are using your personal computer to check your account and changing your User Ids and PINs frequently. If you are using a public computer, they are much less secure.
There are websites and basic information out there that offer advice on the best ways to try and prevent hackers and others from obtaining access to your personal information.
MSN Money explains different types of hacking and has several tips on how to safeguard yourself against identity theft when using your computer.
Phishing is one threat to your identity. This is when you receive an e-mail that looks like it’s from your bank. If you click on a link, a hacker may have just gotten into your account. Don’t be fooled. Your bank won’t be calling or e-mailing you for your account information.
Pharming or Spoofing is when hackers redirect the traffic of a legit website to an imposter site.
Spyware can pop up when you unknowingly click on an attachment or download. Criminals use this to gain access to your credit card numbers and passwords.
So what can you do? Keep your system software up-to-date, don’t click on pop-ups, don’t open e-mails from people you don’t know, make sure you use a safe site when giving out your credit card and use passwords with symbols, numbers and letters, says MSN Money.
As soon as you suspect that you’ve been hacked, contact the group that can help you, such as the social media site, your bank or credit card company. I contacted Facebook right away and heard back within a couple of days. They were able to reset my account and got me back to my social media site. Funny thing is I realized how dependent I was on Facebook and how much I missed it. But no matter how much we enjoy these sites, we still need to remember to be careful.