10 Ways How Hackers Attack Your Social Media Accounts

Updated on January 19th, 2017 by Quertime Writer in Social Media

A decade ago, it was simply our personal computers that we wanted to protect when it came to computing. However, nowadays the stakes are much higher and the things we have to worry about in much greater numbers. For instance, the banking accounts that we use online or even social media can be the target of attacks. That’s why Facebook more or less recently launched partnership with Kaspersky in order to make their whole experience more secure. Along with that, were launched some pages and exclusive content explaining how exactly the dynamics of security really worked when it came to social media.

Did you know your social media content and activity could be at risk? Most of the time, we don’t think about it, since the antivirus on our computers is already doing its job, but the web holds much more information now, and it’s possible for hackers to get to your information. Not only Facebook but also Twitter can be the target of such attacks or traps by hackers. What should you watch for? Check out this quick rundown of what you could be up against when you use social media. You can then be more aware of what’s going on no matter where you click.

1. Phishing on Facebook

Phishing can appear ridiculous when we read the definition and examples, but there are also fake things that you can stumble upon at the wrong moment without notice. Use common sense before reacting to any notification online. Scams rely on making you act quickly. When you receive notification on Facebook, question if its legitimate.

2. Trojans on Facebook
Many Hackers want to slip a virus on your computer. This virus can record everything you type and send it back to the hacker. To do this, the hackers disguise the virus as something harmless. This is called Trojan. Trojans can, unfortunately, be part of the mix when it comes to clicking in the wrong place on Facebook, be especially careful with your emails concerning this one.

3. Identity Theft on Facebook
Identity theft can happen on social media as well. Be careful with what you do when it comes to your financial transactions on there and never disclose it on Facebook. Keep track of your Facebook transactions to make sure that they are correct and that your information is kept safe.

4. Malware on Facebook

Malware is more of a daily thing, but there are solutions for it. Kaspersky takes care of that on Facebook with a free scan you can launch. Make a little effort required to run this and you might catch more threats before they do any damage. Also, keep in the check on different pages of security experts that might warn you or protect you from such threats in the future. Malware isn’t always a simple thing to understand, and it’s constantly evolving, so make some of these pages your “friends” so that you’re always informed on the topic. You might thank yourself later when you come across news of threats you would’ve typically fallen for. Security can also be a fun topic to learn about, depending on how it’s presented.

5. Scams on Facebook (Free Stuff, etc.)
It can be tempting to click on the free stuff that’s often offered on Facebook, but you’re most likely to land on a scam this way. Keep your clicks for the offers that look real and reasonable. Also, don’t be afraid to research on the web concerning an offer you’ve seen on Facebook.

6. People Asking for Money on Facebook
Accounts on social media represent people, and the attack might come through directly from their keyboard. Fake people could ask you for some money or create a false story of an emergency. Be careful. This kind of trap is transferring from our email inboxes to our Facebook accounts since it appears we’re now checking them more often, so be careful around what you open on there from now on.

7. Suspicious Logins on Twitter
Try to use the most recent security methods to avoid suspicious login, and try to check on the location logins depending on the platform that you use.

8. Third Party Apps on Twitter
Third party apps can make interesting claims on Twitter, but they could also be trapped. Don’t give out your information easily.

9. Spams on Twitter

On Twitter, you could also see some people promising wonderful results when it comes to getting rich on the web. Anything could be used to convince you – screenshots, money back guarantees, etc. – but at the end of the day, if the reputation just isn’t there for the link, people or organization you’re about to click on, don’t do it. If you’re really looking to make money on the web, make the appropriate research beforehand.

10. Worms and Others on Twitter
All sorts of other threats can be found on a site like Twitter, but among the essential things you can do to get rid of them, you can reboot your account, use the page to notify Twitter itself of your problem or simply follow the accounts that typically advise users of those kinds of threats. Remember that if you get some problem with social media, you might not be alone, and with the size of the networks nowadays, chances are the news will spread pretty quickly. Thankfully, there’s no better place than social media to become aware of potential threats and current ones that are spreading, so that’s already about half of the problem solved.

Don’t take things lightly on the social networks. There might be jokes and quick links thrown all over the place, but overall you want to take your time and enjoy things one at a time. Opening multiple tabs and getting excited too much about the things you see can generally lead to bad adventures. Take it step and step, travel through the links and people you know, and generally you will end up at the right place. Also, take notice if some of your friends have some of these bad habits on social networks. The things they click on are most likely to end up in front of your eyes, as well as their suggestions, so you will want to take notice before you end up falling into the same traps.

Author: Linda Daniels

Linda Daniels, an independent health and technology consultant and blogger by profession.She provides good knowledge on technology news. She gets the best article by researching for many websites recently like Glozine.com.