Business Insider has just reported that the personal information of over 533 million Facebook users has been posted to a “low-level” hacking forum. Could that include you? Facebook claims to have about 2.7 billion users, so if you’ve signed up, there’s about a one-in-five chance that your details are out on the web. Not good odds for something as important as your confidential data.
What to do? First of all, there’s a free tool available that runs your email address against known hacks – including this one – at the website Have I Been Pwned? Give it a try. It might surprise you!
If you do find that your email address was scooped up by hackers, all hope is not lost. The bad guys need your password and other login details too – which they may or may not have. However, if you do find your email address has been reported, it’s a good time to change your password to something secure on any e-commerce or social media accounts that use it.
It’s also a good idea to turn on Two-Factor Authentication where available. This creates an extra step to logging in, like sending a code to your phone or another email address. You can then use this code to verify your identity.
Another tip: Don’t give out information if you don’t need to! The latest Facebook hack includes phone numbers, full names, locations, birthdates, and bios too. All of this can be used to build a snapshot of a user, a profile which can then be leveraged to commit further fraud.
There’s nothing wrong with NOT sharing all of your information when it’s not required. Feel free to leave those fields blank when signing up for a new service. Big Tech can’t lose data it doesn’t know, and sometimes the less Big Tech knows about you, the better.
If you have concerns about hacked accounts or fraudulent attempts to access your information, let us know. Our team is here to vet and assist with all of your tech questions. Keeping your crucial data secure should be your number one priority – and it’s ours too.
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