Meta Platforms Inc. is warning around one million Facebook users that their account credentials may have been stolen. Research has revealed that more than 400 Android and Apple applications were used to take users’ login information.
Meta claims that Apple and Google are now informed regarding the issue so they can take action to remove these apps. Google has now deleted these apps from its store, while Apple is taking steps to eliminate all of them.
The apps disguise themselves using fun, inconspicuous gimmicks, such as photo editors, health and lifestyle services, or mobile games. Knowing these apps will be popular with users, cybercriminals trick them into logging their Facebook details, giving these people access to other people’s data.
Here’s a peek at what the typical scam looks like:
- The user sees one of these seemingly harmless apps and downloads it.
- The app requires the user to log into Facebook to access the app or specific functions.
- The cybercriminal now has access to the user’s login information.
After these revelations, you should ask yourself, “How do I keep my data away from these cyber criminals?” Here are some steps you can take to keep your Facebook account secure:
- Set up a strong password: A strong password includes a mix of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols
- Enable two-factor authentication: This extra layer of security notifies your phone whenever an attempt is made to login into your account.
- Keep your software up to date: Hackers know how to exploit software that hasn’t been updated.
- Don’t click on suspicious links or download files: Fake websites or harmful files can give hackers access to your data.
- Know when to take extra security measures: Certain scenarios warrant more careful steps.
Take action to protect your account to prevent data breach!
- A hacker will first gain access to your Facebook account by:
- using a fake account and adding you as a friend
- sending you a malicious link that would ask for your Facebook login credentials
- Disguising as an Android or iOS app that would eventually steal your Facebook login information, among other things
- Scraping personal data (name, birthday, phone number, and email address) from your account using software
- The hacker will then have access to your Business Pages and Ad accounts.
- The hacker will remove you, the account owner, and take over your Business page and ads.
- The hacker can post whatever content he/she wants and run ads at whatever budget he /she sets to
Based on news reported by Fox19, small businesses and restaurant owners across the US have been hit by the recent hack. On top of that, Meta is set to notify
In October 2022, Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook) issued a statement that said almost 1 million Facebook users must be notified that their account credentials could have been compromised.
Google and Apple also released a statement that they have already removed most of the problematic apps identified in the recent hack.
