Unfortunately with the popularity of Facebook comes the popularity and frequency of Facebook accounts getting hacked or stolen.
I need to be clear from the start: I can’t guarantee you’ll get it back. Much depends on whether or not you set up recovery options before you lost it, and whether or not you kept those options up-to-date.
Let’s walk through the process.
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Recovery
Underneath the password field of the Facebook login is a link:
It may say “Can’t log in”, “Forgot your password?” or something similar. Click that.
You may then be asked to “Find Your Account”:
The best thing to enter here is the email address that you normally use to log in. If, for some reason, that doesn’t locate your account, the hacker may have deleted the account or changed the email addresses associated with it. Try entering the phone number you previously associated with the account, or your full name as you previously entered into your Facebook profile.
Assuming you can identify your account successfully, you’ll then be asked why you can’t login:
Since we’re talking about hacked accounts, select that and click on Continue.
The first option presented is simply a password reset link:
As you can see, that’s the only option I have available with this account at this time. So I’ll click Continue. (If you have additional email accounts associated with your Facebook account, the password reset link will be sent to all of them. If you have a mobile number associated with your account you may be given the option to use a text message instead. In both of these cases the additional account or mobile number must be set up before you need it, while you have access to your account.)
Facebook then presents this page:
and also sends a message to the listed email address:
After entering the code Facebook presents the option to select a new password:
Enter the new password twice and click Continue.
You now have control of your account once again.
Secure
Since your account was hacked, Facebook will now take you through some extra steps to secure the account from future threats.
Do not skip this step! This will look at the common changes hackers make, help you recover, and help you prevent this from happening again.
First, Facebook will verify the email address(es) associated with your account:
Make sure to check the email address(es) that are correct and to which you have access. Leave the others unchecked, and click Continue.
Facebook then reviews your email account password status:
This is not your Facebook password. This message is asking if you are certain that you are the only person who knows the password to your email account. Anyone who can access your email by virtue of knowing your email account password can, in turn, access your Facebook account.
Once you are certain that your email account is secure, check the box and click Continue. If you are not certain, open another browser window and go change the password to your email account, and take whatever other steps are necessary to secure it first.
Facebook makes a couple of additional recommendations:
Login approvals use techniques such as SMS messages and automated voice to give you a confirmation code prior to letting you log in. You can bypass this on computers into which you log in frequently. A potential hacker would be unable to log in because they would not have the phone associated with your number.
A verified mobile number is a way to reset your password and recover the account should you lose access to your email account.
And finally Facebook suggests you review your recent activity to undo anything that the hacker might have done while having control of your account:
Naturally I recommend you take a few minutes and do this now as well.
But what if…
The scenario above represents the best case scenario: you still have access to the email account associated with your Facebook account.
But what if you don’t?
The sad truth is you may never get your Facebook account back.
- If you no longer have access to the email account associated with your Facebook account
- and you never set up additional email accounts associated with your Facebook account
- and you never set up a mobile phone associated with your Facebook account
- and you never set up Facebook’s “Trusted Contacts” to help should your account be lost
- AND your account is hacked or you lose your password…
- THEN you cannot prove to Facebook that you have any right to access that account.
Facebook will not give it back to you, simply because they have no way to know that you’re not just another hacker trying to steal the account.
As you proceed through the recovery process, make sure to read all instructions that Facebook gives you completely. On several of the items there’s a “I don’t have access to this any more” link that may take you to additional options that perhaps you can use. If you can’t, however, you may be out of luck.
It is probably because you used a very simple and easy to guess password. That’s what hackers do. They look for accounts they can break into – and then do it. This article will help you: http://ask-leo.com/whats_a_good_password.html
My Facebook account was not hacked. My pages associated with my account was hacked. The hacker went into my pages and took me off as the administrator so I can not delete the spam they are posting on the page. Any help on this?
Plsss i regained my hacked fb acount but my pictures and friends are no longer available…wot do i do plssss
If the hacker unfriended your friends, the only way to get them back would be to send out friend requests to them again. You might want to let them know you were hacked in case the hacker might have posted things on their timelines. As for the photos, I believe they are gone from Facebook forever.
Good day Sir,
The message below is from Facebook. I would like to ask what will I do to log in again in Facebook.
Please do help me and give me a reply to my Email address. Thank you.
Your Account Is Temporarily Locked for Security
It looks like the internet browser you’re using may be affected by malicious extensions. We’ll help you fix the problem so you can securely log into your account.
Malicious extensions are a kind of malware, software that steals your personal information and causes problems when you use Facebook. Clicking or sharing links than contain spam can give your computer malware.
Hi. I have the same problem with my account. It seems to be blocked, cause the browser i used 20 days ago wasnt safe. Do you have any idea of what can i do?? Its been already 20 days, and i dont have a facebook response yet. Thank you very much.
Liat.
hi..
i can’t open my fb account i think somebody will removed the email add… its the old phone number indicated to my fb account and i dont know my email add. pls help me to fix it i want my fb account back. tnx in advance..
My roomy relapsed all last week and before I left to work. My phone was in his car. I know he traded it for drugs and now someone has my signed in Facebook. The verification sends to that phone number only. How can I get the verification code sent through email instead? Plz help, thanks.
If its SMS go to your mobile carrier and get a new phone and have them transfer over your number. Text messages will now come to the new phone.
Sir I broke my SIM a year ago and forgot password of my email but now 3 days ago I changed password of facebook and forgot it too so I don’t have access to email and phone so how I can recover my account I m logging in from the same device and from my home too where I always logged in
Without recovery information set correctly, and without the password it will be difficult to recover your account. Your only option is to go through the recovery steps that Facebook provides. In your case, you’ll start with “I forgot my password.”
my Facebook has been hacked and they changed my email and password so i contacted Facebook and sent them my id and everything they got back to me and gave me a link to reset my password and it showed everything that you are showing what it shows. so then after the last one i pressed next and it lead me to a blank page. what do i do now?
Try doing it again. Going to a blank page sounds like your browser failed. Clear your cache, and reboot your computer first. More in this article: https://askleo.com/whats_a_browser_cache_how_do_i_clear_it_and_why_would_i_want_to/
Even after doing all these it still appears someone may have changed the password. For security reasons Facebook has hidden your account. Then it continues and takes to the page of recovery where i had to log in from the used browsers which never works. Then identify photos of your friends (hourly time limit exceeded)! For how many hours i had to wait? Its already 3 hours. Trying again says, too much attempts. Slow down or you won’t be able to permanently use your account. Help me
These techniques don’t work because Facebook DOES NOT RESPOND to your requests for help.
Right now I am locked out of my account, I have done all the steps outlined above in advance, but Facebook will not respond to me, other than to ask for my ID, over and over and over again. I have sent it to them over 20 times now, and I still get the same message stating they cannot help me until I sent my ID.
There is not a person looking at any of these requests, and no way to talk to someone, so a computer is just going to keep asking for the same thing over and over again.
With a billion users, you would think we could gang up on them and get them to provide good customer service with a phone number, chat and e-mail address people answer within 24 hours. But as huge a company as Facebook is, with all the technology in the world, they will not do this.
I am now at the point of giving up my 1,000+ Friends and moving onto something else. It has already killed my business.
I will also be looking for a class action lawsuit if anyone is doing one.
I really have to agree with Tom on this one!
I have never really used my Fb account much, and not at all for the past year or so.
However, I really wanted to advertise a Zydeco dance here in Fremont CA at the Smokin’ Pig restaurant with Andre Thierry (a Gramy-nominated band whom I really like) because there are so few dance venues here.
However my Fb account was hacked and its content was gone!
I went thru the procedures of resetting the account and securing via mobile phone.
Then I tried three times with their “Report a problem” asking them to restore my account. These requests were duly noted under the Support Dashboard under Settings on my Fb account.
It’s been nearly 48 hours and I have not heard at all from them.
Now, for those of you who are not compute geeks this means: restore from backup.
However, I am getting the impression that Fb doesn’t even have backups, at least not ones that go back to about a year or so ago.
HEY ZUCKERBERG! THOU SHALT BACKUP YOUR CUSTOMERS’ DATA !!
As 35-year veteran of silicon valley doing hi-tech software engineering, I am astounded that Fb
a. Does not *readily* offer such a service (for free or for a fee)
b. Impress *mightily* upon their users that the onus is upon them to back it up (to their PC’s hard drive or some cloud-storage service)
Hopefully their up and coming competitors are taking note. And I wonder if some the engineers I know over at Fb there are working on this.
BTW, the ads I got on Fb are these border-line sleezy dating ads.
Why oh why doesn’t Zuckerberg offer Fb for a small monthly fee and just do the backups?
I think Fb does indeed have a legal liability and could be sued, assuming that such they have ruled it out somewhere in their Terms of Agreement.
I’m sure FB has their butts pretty well covered in the EULA. As for up and coming competitors, my opinion is that they’re going to be up and coming for years. It not what Facebook is that is the secret of their success, it’s what Facebook has: a database of about 1/5 the world’s population all connected with those they want to be connected with. That’s a lot of catchup for a competitor to do.
And remember, you are not Facebook’s (or any free service’s) customer. You are their product.
https://askleo.com/dislike-a-services-recent-change-remember-you-are-not-the-customer/
Nice points but not exactly the problem I am having. I have access to the account. Followed the steps to secure it using Facebook (repeated twice). Used my cell phone for confirmation for added security. But it is still hacked and it appears to be a click jack situation? But every so often I have a porn link placed on my timeline invited with all FB friends to boot. Deactivated the account now and want to fix it but want a strategy on how to do it first. Really dismayed at lack of help from Facebook… does seem no real person is behind the scenes in support… Any help would be greatly appreciated! Will post your site on my timeline too if you get me through!
and my email has ben hacked now what?
I’d start you here: https://askleo.com/email_hacked_7_things_you_need_to_do_now/
Sir i have forgotten my facebook password..
I made many attempts to recover it..;-(
They send an code to my email but i made my email a long time agi nd i forget emil’s password too
Pls sir??Let me know that what do i do??
Probably time to move and open a new Facebook account. If your recovery options are no longer available to you, then I know of no reliable way to get the account back.
Leo, I was browsing my FB when suddenly the Flash crashed. When I refreshed the page, all I saw was blank page. Nothing else. I tried to reinstall the Flash/ update multiple times, it only downloaded up to 51% then failed. Now I am locked out my FB, without any possible way to access any recovery attempt. Any suggestions of what to do? Thanks
Your quickest fix is to try another browser. That will likely get you into your Facebook account. And here’s and article that may help with the crashed browser: https://askleo.com/why_wont_flash_work_even_though_its_installed/
Hi sir my name is gabe and I didn’t open Facebook for a year and someone from Brazil tried to open my Facebook account and my account got locked I know it’s password and username but when I log in Facebook asks for date of birth. But when I enter correct date of birth but it says incorrect. And I also have changed my old phone number linked with Facebook account. Is there any way available to get my account back without having date of birth screen.
Hello Leo. I just stumbled on your website and it appears to be one of the most comprehensive out of many for actual Facebook support (strange that the biggest company in the world cannot have hands-on support?) Anyhow, some how my security settings got switched to block secure browsing, meaning I cannot log into my facebook from any browser – only the app on my phone. I am a community manager professionally so this is hugely inconvenient.
My question is – how can i get facebook or somebody to get into my account and ‘enable secure browsing’ in the setting? I believe – as do the guys at Apple store – that this is the solution.
Any thoughts or steps would be hugely appreciated.
Best regards
Jennifer
I have been unable to access my facebook account through opra-mini for days what should i do?
Start by trying a different browser.
i’m at the step where i have to choose a new password. the problem is there’s only one box for ‘New Password’ and none for ‘Confirm Password’ thus i cannot enter my new password twice.
each time i click continue, the same page appears now telling me to enter the same password twice. again i just cant do that. i’d tried reloading the page and clicking the help button but even the help button doesn’t work.
Try clearing your browser cache, or even using a different browser. I also notice that when things like this happen, if I just slow down, and look more closely at the page, I can find the answer. The secret to computers is to let the frustration go away, and take a breath.
please, I need your help. I can’t login and I lost my two trusted contacts and I don’t know what to do.is it possible I change my email? because each time I login,I have access to change my password but I can’t still login.please let somebody help me.I’ve got so many trusted things there in ma inbox that I really do not wanna lost them please.
my fb account is hack but I recover using the codes from my trusted contact but I need to wait for 24 hours.
my question is if the hacker still can open my account because she have the password that she change to my account before I recover it and change again the password that I use for recovery?
how can I know that my account is not hack again? because I try to login with the email and new password that I use for recovery it not working..
please help me.
thank you so much wait for the respond
Once you get your account back, change the password and check the recovery information to make sure those are your recovery accounts and phone numbers, and change anything you don’t recognize as yours.
https://askleo.com/facebook-hacked-what-you-need-to-do-now/
https://askleo.com/is_changing_my_password_enough/
I reported spam on FB and immediately got locked out of my account. I go through the steps to get back in but when i get to “supply a government issued photo showing your name” i run into trouble as i created my profile with a shortened version of my surname and a pic of my motorbike as profile pic. I am not particularly interested in getting back into it, i would rather delete the profile completely, as i still keep getting messages from FB saying “you have 99+ messages and 10 friend requests”. Is this possible? Thanks.
Good day sir,
I don’t know wheather this thread is availbale or active any more or not. But recently i came around this mishap . I found your article quite helpful but there exsists still a problem , it says that ” are you sure you’r email is secure “. i changed my email pasword but still it says you can’t choose this email . I have two mail addresses right now added up to my account of which one belongs to the hacker . I can’t possibly choose that one . so please answer if you are available and be of any viable help.
Thanks alot
i can’t login into my account..it says the account was suspendied…i don’t know what have i do to regain my facebook account…pls help me some one.
If it has been suspended, and they haven’t given you any way to get it back, then there’s noting you can do other than to wait out the suspension period. If they haven’t specified a time, it may be possible that your account is unrecoverable.
went to do the security check on my phone as i was locked out for no reason, did the captcha and then get CONNECTION TIMED OUT after i tap continue and see a split second of the first image. and now, over 12 hours later the security check option is grayed out and says ” hourly limit exceeded “. i still have no access to my account, and have NO WAY to contact facebook about it unless well u guessed it, I HAVE AN ACCOUNT!! what really sucks is that the account is attached to a game where im the LEADER of an alliance, without access to my account, i have no access to my game!!
Few months ago facebook introduced there {removed} policy of asking government id. Firstly, They don’t have any right for asking that but as facebook was my only source of income. I had a page I used to sell mobile accessories over there. I didn’t had my government I struggled for weeks in process of making it as I live in a undeveloped country. I sent them my id’s through following facebook steps. What the {removed}berg’s facebook says is that “Thank you! We’ll get in touch with you at the email address you have provided to facebook. You will be logged out of the account now”. I opened my mail and facebook says you can’t assist your account. Provide the ids here. I provided ids over there as well. No reply! Nothing. its been more than a week guys. This is {removed}. I worked soo hard to promote my page. This is unfair. Whenever I try to login on facebook it says we’ll get in touch with you on email you should be logged out now. Guys help me out what should I do? I need my page badly as it is my source of income. There is even no way to contact facebook employes. There are robots all over the facebook. Help me get my account back please
Unfortunately, there’s nothing we can do to help. That’s one problem with free services, since you are not paying for their service, they don’t have it in their budget to work with individual requests for help, and it appears their automated systems don’t always work as we’d like.
Building your only source of income on someone else’s platform is never a good idea. I’d start by looking into alternatives that aren’t so dependent on the whims of others.
I got this text”We have successfully reviewed your ID and sent an email to the address you provided. Please click the link in the email to regain access to your account.” But they havent sent any link message on my email to get my account back
i have had issues logging into my facebook since i cleared the cache/cookies off my web browser. I tried to regain my fb account via my email via the link and generating the confirmation code and changed the pw. but i am still having issues trying to log in with my new pw. it acknowledges the new pw but then asks for more identification. i have tried numerous times to enter DOB and have not been successful (keeps saying its wrong). Its also giving the option to upload government ID, which i dont want to do. I originally set this fb account up for my son (who was a minor at the time) to use for games, but I have been the main user since i created it years ago. I have had the same email attached to it since i created it and have never changed it. Im getting frustrated with it, ive tried for days to regain entry with no success. I have mainly used it for a game i have played on it for four years and now because i cannot log in all i have done in this game has now been wasted, not to mention i have spent money on to play it. If someone could help with any idea’s i would be most appreciative.
I just lost my facebook account and i can’t log in i have did all it ask me to do all it says is we have send a code to your phone but my phone is off and i don’t have that number anymore so i have the code send to my email but the page come back up saying we send it to your phone please help me i don’t know what to do now
Unfortunately that leaves you in a difficult spot. One possible thread of hope would be if someone else now has your old phone number and would be kind enough to help you. Bottom line: It’s critical to always keep recovery information up to date.
Its been quite a while now and i got my password changed but “when did facebook start asking for id to log in to your account” i send a black picture to verify it and i havent been on since ,well i guess it was actually facebook i can see that now …HOW do i get access to my account
I do not get a cursor in the comment box
and cannot make a comment on Facebook.
Is there anything I can do to restore the ability to make comments?
I’d start by clearing your browser cache, or even trying a different browser.
I have been desperately searching for solutions everywhere so here I am.
My wife’s account had been locked by Facebook due to some suspicious login and she has since reset the password and managed to login again.
However, Facebook would not allow her to proceed further without verifying her identity and the presented options below is not working for her.
1. Text a security code to your phone
2. Approve your login on another smartphone or computer
3. I have an unlock code
Option 1 – No sms is received even after many attempts.
Option 2 – This is kind of puzzling. We tried to login in all the devices and all of them asking for the same verification. It is like a deadlock situation.
Option 3 – We don’t have an unlock code.
Any advise now are much appreciated!
Facebook locked me out of my accout. Said I had to verify threw text. I no longer had the number. I finally found change number on Facebook. Had 3 friends verify it sent a text to my new number. Waited 24 hours. When I logged in said someone changed my password please enter password. I hit my page was hacked after trying every password i new. It made me change my password again. Verify 5 friends on my page.m verify recent apps and posts. Then it said I couldn’t log in. I checked my email and Facebook said that my account had been hacked. I resent the code. Verified my 3 friends codes and now I’m waiting again to try and get in. I don’t know what im doing wrong. This is my 3rd time trying to get in.
Hi there…the worst case scenario has happened to me, basically, where the hacker undid everything–my email addresses and phone numbers and so on. I went through the process of reporting my page as hacked and sent Facebook my ID. The URL to my Facebook is the same one I set up years ago and reflects my real name and so on. At any rate, I guess what I’m asking here is this: is there any chance I will recover this Facebook page? I’ve had it since 2007 and mainly used it as a place to store photos so I’m mostly sad that I can’t get back into the account for this reason. I wasn’t able to determine whether sending a photo of my ID would be useful since I couldn’t find anything in this article about that. I may have missed it, though. Thanks for your attention.
Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? From what I keep hearing from people … probably not. No harm in trying though. Would love to hear if you get it back.
If you can access the page and the hacker hasn’t deleted the photos, you might, at least, be able to download the pictures.
I have changed my password but I cannot get the text to return to english. Someone apparently from Sunnyvale changed my text to Russian [I believe. Hit the english button but it doesn’t work.
Facebook reset password link not working.. Is there another way to get back on my account?/
I did set up trusted contacts and Facebook keeps saying “Im trying to often” when I enter the 3 codes my trusted contacts provide me. I have waited a few days before trying again to allow more time and that still isn’t working?? This was suppose to be a useful tool to help us get our accounts back? What can we do and WHY does FB not have someone to help us?
“WHY does FB not have someone to help us?” -> that’s easy. Facebook is free. People cost money.
I did set up trusted contacts and Facebook keeps saying “Im trying to often” when I enter the 3 codes my trusted contacts provide me. I have waited a few days before trying again to allow more time and that still isn’t working??
I’m closing comments on this article because 90% of them (mostly now deleted) are asking the very question answered by the article.
I can’t say it more clearly: Read The Article.