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How to Protect Social Media Accounts From Spammers And Hackers

by Britt Michaelian

 

Facebook pages go down.  Twitter profiles get hijacked.  Google accounts get taken over.

We hear about it every day… but it seems to be happening more and more lately.

The hack.

So, how can you protect your social media profiles and your brand from getting taken over by these nuisances?  Watch this video to find out 5 tips to put up the best line of defense against hackers and what to do if your account gets hijacked. 

In addition to the tips in this video, it is very important to make sure that you keep your social media profiles safe from the very beginning.  If you have a team of people working for you, remember to have Non-Disclosure forms and Independent Contractor Agreements (that clearly outline scope of services and termination process) signed before they ever have access to your accounts.

If your team is using services like Hootsuite to manage social media, you can add team members without giving them the account password.  When a team member leaves your organization, you need to remove all application tokens on your actual Facebook and Twitter accounts.  To do this, simply log in to your account, click on Settings, go to Applications and revoke access to Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, MarketMe Suite or any other application that you use.

The bottom line is that your best line of defense is to stay active in protecting your accounts.  Watch for strange activity.  Check to see where your account has been logged into from.  If you notice any suspicious activity, report it immediately by submitting a support ticket with screen captures to show evidence of your claims.

Remember, as stressful as it can be to have your accounts compromised, it is in your best interests to stay calm and to trust that your account will be restored as quickly as possible.  Hackers are out there and they seem to be everywhere these days.  So, be prepared.  Create a contingency plan in your company that clearly outlines the steps to take in the event that your accounts are hacked or impersonated and who will oversee the restoration of the accounts.  Just as with natural disasters, preparation is essential!

Now, what are your thoughts?  Have your accounts ever been hacked?  What did you do to get every thing resolved?  Do you have any tips to share?  We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

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Most Commented Posts

  • http://RachelintheOC.com/ Rachel Thompson

    According to what I’ve read, the strongest passwords include one uppercase letter, one lower case, a few numbers, a few symbols, and an Alzheimer’s pill to remember it. 

  • Anonymous

     LOL – yes, we must have a system to remember our passwords if we need 52 per year! ;)  

  • http://www.brucesallan.com Bruce Sallan

    Good tips, as always, Britt. But, now that I’ve met you in person, I do have a complaint. THAT lighting is just not good! You are beautiful, in any light, but that light is too harsh. Coming from my film background and seeing how your radiate in person, I want to see that on your vlogs, too. I’ll come next time and set the lights, okay?

  • Anonymous

     Thanks Bruce. Deal ;)

  • http://twitter.com/SmashFit Heather Frey

    Thank you! I’ve had some picture imposters on Twitter. They use my picture and bio. I turned them in and they said it was spam. I suppose it’s been taken care of. And just recently, I had a copyright infringement. Someone called their account SmashFitt… and extra T. Turned them into twitter with my copyright id  # from the government. We’ll see if they shut it down. Thanks for the tips..took all of them. 

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  • http://twitter.com/BoldSuccess Todd Gray

    Excellent advice Britt, most people neglect to change their passwords on a regular basis.  I also appreciate learning about HootSuite because I was not aware of that service.