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Social-Media Account Hacked — Recovery Steps

Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Gmail and X: the official recovery paths, how to warn customers, how to stop the hijacker's ‘invest with me’ posts, and how to lock the account afterwards.

A hijacked business account is used within hours to post ‘investment opportunities’ to your followers. Recover fast, warn faster.

First

From another channel (a second account, WhatsApp status, a sign at the shop) tell customers the account is compromised and to ignore its messages. Ask friends to report the account.

Recovery paths

Instagram / Facebook: ‘Forgot password’ → then the ‘My account was hacked’ form (instagram.com/hacked, facebook.com/hacked); WhatsApp: reinstall and register with your number, enter your two-step PIN, contact support if the hijacker set one; Gmail: g.co/recover from a device and network you used before; X: help.x.com hacked-account form.

After recovery

Enable 2FA with an authenticator app, generate backup codes, remove unknown devices and third-party apps, review connected e-mails and phone numbers, and change the password on the e-mail that owns the account.

Checklist

  • ☐Customers warned through another channel
  • ☐Official recovery form submitted (note the reference)
  • ☐2FA + backup codes after recovery
  • ☐Unknown devices and apps removed
  • ☐Recovery e-mail / phone verified as yours
  • ☐Password on the owning e-mail changed

Questions people ask

The hacker is messaging my customers.

Post a warning from another channel, start recovery immediately through the platform's official form, and ask customers to report the account.

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The Cyber Desk provides educational tools, checklists and self-help drafts — not legal advice. For serious or high-value fraud, also consult the police and a qualified lawyer.