Despite multiple preventive measures and other cybersecurity methods, it is almost impossible for people to ensure the security of their social media accounts completely. All social media accounts these days are at risk of hacking due to an increase in cybercriminal activity.
This is why social media users must learn how to protect their social media accounts appropriately. Be it using ExpressVPN for the US or other firewall services to protect your devices from data breaches, people must know that certain kinds of accounts are more at risk than others. So let’s take a look at which social media accounts are targeted the most and why?
Source: identityiq.com
Contents
What Happens To Stolen Social Media Accounts?
As you might already know, it is very easy for social media users to generate money with the help of well-established accounts. This is why you can lose your livelihood if your social media account is compromised. Similarly, hackers and cyber criminals tend to target well-established accounts so that they can gradually alter the account until they can create their own content and earn money through ad revenue and brand sponsorships.
Most hackers and cybercriminals erase your account properly and then sell it to new buyers on the dark web. This way, they can earn easy money, and people can get their own social media accounts without much hassle. But which social media accounts are targeted the most?
Social Media Profiles That Are Most Likely To Get Hacked
If we consider the most bankable social media platforms these days, then Instagram is one of the most common places where social media influencers can be found. There is a huge number of micro and major influencers on Instagram, and this is why it is like a gold mine for hackers. Even if they end up taking over an account with 10,000 followers, they can easily sell the account for good money because it will be considered a successful account.
Similarly, Twitter and Facebook accounts are also very heavily affected by hackers. The reason for this is that these platforms can be very easily used to create groups or to market certain products. Usually, Facebook and Twitter accounts are very useful for acting as bot accounts, and most hackers use these accounts after taking over for the same thing.
Source: news18.com
How Hackers Make Use Of Stolen Accounts
If we consider the ways that hackers use to access user accounts on various social media platforms, it is usually done by contacting these accounts in the form of friends or by using other scam-type schemes. These methods are the most effective because cybercriminals can access personal user information easily. Since social media users are not very skeptical about their accounts, they tend to give away OTPs and two-factor authentication codes if someone asks them. This is why it is also mandatory for social media users to learn about cybersecurity methods.
It is also quite sad, but if you do not have a verified account, there’s not much that you can do, even if you contact the support team of the concerning social media platform. Other than Instagram, Youtube accounts have also become quite bankable. However, it is difficult to get access to these accounts as you will have to create videos and interact with the subscribers of that certain account, and this can expose the identity of hackers easily.
Another concerning issue with these hacked accounts is that they can be further used to get access to other social media accounts. For example, if one of your social media accounts is compromised, chances are that your other social media accounts might also get hacked if you do not take urgent action.
How To Safeguard Your Social Media Accounts
There are a lot of ways social media users can protect their accounts from hackers. Even though Internet users are aware of hackers and cybercriminals, they are usually not aware of ways to protect themselves against such people. This is why you must learn some basic prevention measures that can help increase the security of your social media accounts.
Source: securitymagazine.com
Maintain Unique Passwords
Try not to reuse your passwords for all websites and applications that you use. Try to use a password manager to keep track of your passwords and ensure that you have unique passwords. That way, if the e-mail ID and password combination for one of your accounts is breached, your other accounts will remain safe.
Avoid Using Public Wi-Fi Networks
Make sure that you do not access public Wi-Fi. Public Wi-fi is a hunting place for hackers, as they can easily get your device data by pretending to be a public Wi-Fi provider. This way, they can easily get your IP address and can even use your device identity to browse through the internet and make purchases.
Use Two-Factor Authentication
To protect your social media accounts, you should also keep track of your account activity on a regular basis. This way, you will be able to determine if there is any suspicious activity on your social media accounts. You can also log out of all your devices occasionally to ensure your account’s safety. You can also add an additional layer of protection with the help of two-factor authentication.
Source: blog.algartelecom.com.br
Take Help Of Firewall Software
Many social media users tend to ignore protection software meant to avoid brute force and identity theft attacks. There are a lot of malware protection software that can help you to protect your device further. If you feel like your device is at risk of a data breach, you can simply install any firewall software to create a shield against hackers and cybercriminals.
Conclusion
No matter how many precautionary measures you take, you must also ensure that you should never share your passwords, even with friends. There is a possibility that if you have lost an account to hacking, you might lose other accounts as well.
If you are somewhat aware and take certain precautionary measures, you might be able to save your social media accounts even if you have lost one of your accounts to hacking. You can also contact the support team as soon as possible so that you can get your account back.
