Restore your account after it has been hacked

PostedJuly 9, 2021

UpdatedJuly 9, 2021

ByJon Morgan

This article is adapted from a post by /u/ashenfang7404 on Reddit

Take the following steps if your Facebook account has been hacked and after you’ve tried the standard recovery process but it didn’t work.

1.On your phone, go to facebook.com/login/identify. You will be prompted to login, and then asked a series of questions about what email or phone you have access to. If your account has been hacked, you likely do not have access to any of these methods. Your choice will be “choose another way to authenticate.” Choose this option.

2.You will be prompted to enter an email address that you can access and upload your driver’s license. Make sure that when you take a picture of your photo ID that it is on a dark background with all four corners visible.

3.Once you submit it, you will see a confirmation which will say that you will receive a response within 48 hours.

4.Repeat the above process 5-7 times per day at random times. You will likely recieve emails saying that your ID couldn’t be verified. Keep submitting.

5.At some point, you will receive an email which reads, “Thank you for submitting your ID, to recover your account use the link below or login using the included password.” There is a 50/50 chance this will get you back into your account. DO NOT USE THE LINK. Instead, copy the provided password and attempt to login to your account.

There are two possible outcomes:

1.Account access restored, you will be asked other security questions to verify your identity and given the opportunity to review/add/remove email and phone numbers on your account. You may also be shown pictures of your “friends” and asked to identify them by name as an extra security measure. You will be asked to change your password.

2.You will be able to change your password but when saved, a prompt will ask you for the 2FA code from a code generator. This is a code under control of the hacker. You will be stuck at this point but at least your email would have been added back to the account. Typically, FB will restore your email to the account but will also keep the hackers. Proceed to next step.Next, head over to this link ON YOUR PC/MAC – https://www.facebook.com/help/contact/179049432194862

Before filling out the form, take a clear picture of your ID on a dark background, 4 corners visible, and save to your PC.In the issue description box, put this –

“Hello! My account was hacked on_________. I am unable to receive emails from Facebook because the hacker changed my email and phone number. My Facebook ID is ______________and my account email is _______________ . Attached is a photo of my ID to prove who I am. Please turn off 2FA and add my email address back so I can recover my account. Thanks!”

Under the issue description box, select the button to upload an image and choose the photo of your ID saved on your PC. Submit this form 5-7 times per day at different times.At some point, by performing the steps above, you will receive an email from security@facebook.com The email will thank you for confirming your identity and will provide you with a link and password. DON’T USE THE LINK, instead, login to your FB from the normal login page and use the password provided. This password is one-time use and will bypass any 2FA on the account. Read the next screens carefully and review any email/phone numbers. Remove anything that you don’t recognize. The next few screens will ask you to change your password and possibly review pictures of friends that will require you to identify by name. Once complete, FB will ask you to log in with your new password.Once you have recovered your account perform these steps (also do this if you currently have access to your FB to help if you are ever hacked).

Issue 2 is that FB apparently does not have any customer-facing support. All security processes, requests, account recovery, ID verification etc. is handled by AI (computers). Rarely, will an actual human be helping with any of these processes. This is why the above suggestions for recovering your account involve repeated submissions.

Lastly, consider downloading your entire FB information. This is done under settings -> privacy. This file contains EVERYTHING on your account – friends, all of your posts, pictures, videos, comments etc. In the event that your account is not recoverable, you will at least have a memorialized copy of it on your computer.