Contents
How not to fall for phishing, why it is important to change passwords often and when you can contact the police.
Phishing
The most popular account hacking method is phishing. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the user himself can give hackers a password to access the social network or an SMS confirmation code. Having taken possession of the account, the attackers contact its owner and demand a ransom.
Only his own vigilance can protect a user’s social network accounts from phishing: it is necessary to monitor the “cleanliness” of the sites on which he enters his login and password, do not follow suspicious links and do not install unverified applications on your devices.
Data protection
To protect your social media accounts, follow these three rules:
- install programs only from official sources,
- regularly check your device with an antivirus program,
- change passwords periodically.
In this case, it is desirable to use two-factor authentication to set a password. It’s also important to use different passwords for different accounts. Experts also recommend not using public Wi-Fi networks or setting up a VPN on your device to eliminate the risk of data interception.
If the hack has already happened, you need to try to recover your account through the recovery forms or with the help of the technical support of the service, scan the device with an antivirus program, change passwords in other social networks, and also inform your friends about the hack – the profile can be used for fraud on behalf of the user.
5 tips to secure your Instagram account
- Subscribe from another account to your account so as not to lose it if the attacker changes his name;
- Save all important photos in case they are deleted;
- Use the built-in recovery procedures;
- Prepare a passport – the administration of the social network may request a photo to confirm identity;
- Check email regularly for new emails from technical support.
5 Tips for Protecting Your Facebook Account
- Choose a strong password: a combination of at least six numbers, letters and punctuation marks;
- Use anti-virus software on the computer;
- Add a security question for an account;
- Do not follow unverified links;
- Remember to sign out of Facebook if you’re using a public computer and don’t save your password on your device.
Account hacking is a crime
If the account has already been hacked, and the support service could not help get it back, the user has the right to contact the police. According to Art. 138 and 272 of the Criminal Code of the Federation, hacking a personal profile on a social network can be regarded as a crime.
To initiate a criminal case, grounds are needed so that law enforcement agencies can make inquiries to the provider and telecom operator. It will then search for the IP address, the location of the device that was used to hack, and the search for the person who used the device. After identifying the person who hacked the profile, a search will be made for grounds to bring the attacker to justice.
According to articles 138 and 272 of the Criminal Code of the Federation, the basis for initiating a case may be a violation of the secrecy of correspondence, telephone conversations, postal, telegraphic or other messages and illegal access to computer information. If, as a result of hacking, actions were committed using the user’s personal information, then here we can also talk about the grounds for administrative liability for insult (Article 5.61 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Federation), and about compensation for moral damage for posting discrediting information that does not correspond to reality (Article 152 of the Civil Code of the Federation).
“It is quite possible to identify an attacker, since there are quite a lot of digital traces of his activity on the network: the IP address from which he accessed, the geotag of the device he used, his mobile phone and email address,” explained the head of the Group-analysts team. IB Ilya Rozhnov.