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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
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- By Jim Birchell
For many small businesses, Facebook is more than a social media platform. It’s their shop window, marketing channel, customer service desk and, increasingly, their primary means of connection to customers.
As a result, a growing wave of account hacks on Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms is causing concern among business owners across Auckland.
Reports of businesses losing control of their Facebook pages have become increasingly common. Hackers have gained access to accounts, posted inappropriate or explicit content, and triggered automated action from Meta that results in pages being suspended or even permanently disabled.
For small organisations that rely heavily on social media, the consequences of this can be severe. Facebook and Instagram accounts may be shut down, cutting off access to followers and wiping out a significant source of website traffic as well as customer goodwill.
Experts warn many Facebook compromises begin with phishing attempts designed to trick users into handing over login details.
One method under investigation involves malicious actors sending Business Manager partnership invitations that appear legitimate. The requests may arrive via Meta email notifications from facebookmail.com, making them difficult to identify as scams.
How to protect your account Meta recommends several steps to improve account security:
• Use a unique, strong password that’s not used on any other website or service
• Enable two-factor authentication so a login code is required when accessing an account from a new device
• Consider setting up passkeys, which are designed tobe more resistant to phishing attacks
• Enable alerts for unrecognised logins
• Never share passwords or login credentials
• Be wary of emails, messages or websites requesting Facebook login details
• Avoid accepting friend requests from people you do not know
• Keep browsers, devices and security software up to date
Meta stresses it’ll never ask users to provide their password via email. Online safety organisation Netsafe recommends users regularly review their Facebook privacy settings.
The organisation advises limiting public access to personal information such as email addresses, phone numbers and birthdays.
Users can also lock their profiles, restricting who can view photos, posts and stories. Completing Facebook’s Privacy Checkup and Security Checkup tools can help identify vulnerabilities before they’re exploited.
Cybersecurity specialists say social media accounts.
