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Lockdown guide · about 10 minutes

Lock down your Facebook account

By The Latchkey Daily Team, EditorsPublished Updated Verified January 18, 2027

What's at risk: A hacked Facebook account is used to scam your friends in your name, and it is the login for dozens of other apps.

Verified against Facebook app, January 2027.

You'll need: a password manager, an authenticator app.

One account a day

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Step by step

  1. Open the Accounts Center. In the Facebook app, tap your profile picture, then Settings & privacy, Settings, and Accounts Center at the top. Choose Password and security.
  2. Change the password. Password and security, Change password. Use a long unique phrase saved in your password manager.
  3. Turn on two-factor authentication. Password and security, Two-factor authentication, choose your account, then Authentication app. Scan the code with your authenticator (or save it in your password manager). Save the recovery codes to your password manager's secure notes.
  4. Review where you are logged in. Password and security, Where you're logged in. Log out of any device or location you do not recognize.
  5. Turn on login alerts. Password and security, Login alerts. Turn on notifications and email so you hear about any new login immediately.
  6. Set a legacy contact. Settings, Accounts Center, Personal details, Account ownership and control, Memorialization. Choose who manages your account if something happens; it stops a dead person's account becoming scam bait.
  7. Tighten who can see and find you. Settings, Privacy, and go through "How people find and contact you." Limit friend requests to friends of friends and hide your email and phone from search.

Facebook is where the family lives, which is why it is the platform scammers most want to be you on. A hacked account sends “I’m stuck and need $200” to everyone you know, and the people who answer are the ones who trust you most.

Do this for a parent

  1. Do two-factor with the authenticator inside the password manager you set up for them, so the code is on the same device.
  2. Set yourself as the legacy contact.
  3. Limit friend requests to friends of friends; most "hacked friend" scams start with a fake duplicate profile.
  4. Teach the one rule: a friend asking for money or gift cards in Messenger is a hacked account; call them.

The whole set, in one afternoon: the Family Setup Kit.

If you get locked out

  1. Go to facebook.com/hacked from a device you have used before and follow the steps.
  2. If the email on the account was changed, look for Facebook's "did you change your email" message in your inbox; it has a link to reverse it, valid for a limited time.

Questions people ask

Why does a hacked Facebook account matter so much?
Because the scammer messages your friends as you, asking for money or sending links, and because many people used "Log in with Facebook" for other apps. Your account is a key to your friends' trust.
Someone made a duplicate profile of me. Is that hacking?
No, it is cloning: a new account with your name and photos. Report the profile as impersonation and tell your friends not to accept the request.

Related

  • Guide

    Lock down your Gmail account

    Your email is the master key. Anyone inside it can reset the password on your bank, your Amazon and everything else.

  • Guide

    Lock down your iPhone

    Your phone is your bank, your email, your photos and your two-factor codes. A stolen passcode is a stolen life.

  • Guide

    Lock down your Android phone

    Your phone holds your bank, your email and your two-factor codes. A weak screen lock or a sideloaded app hands all of it over.

  • The scam this stops

    The grandparent scam

    The grandparent scam is a phone call in which someone pretends to be a grandchild (or a lawyer or officer calling about one) who is in jail, in a hospital or in an accident and needs money immediately, sent by gift card, cash courier or wire, and kept secret from the rest of the family.

  • The scam this stops

    The recovery scam

    The recovery scam targets people who were already scammed, with a call or message from a "lawyer," "recovery agency" or "government investigator" offering to get the lost money back for an upfront fee, which is itself the scam.