Protecting Social Media Accounts from Spammers and Hackers

Recently, we became one of the founding members of Friends of Ricki (Lake). Not only is it an honor to be a founding member, but it's also been quite informative. Take this article (below) for instance. Head over to www.worksmartmompreneurs.com to check out the full story with video!

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!

‍