How To Recover a Hacked Social Media Account
Regain access to a compromised social media account, remove attacker changes, and warn your followers before the account is used to scam them.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
First 10 minutes
- Go to the platform's official help or account recovery page and begin recovery
- If you still have access, change your password and sign out all other sessions
- Check whether your recovery email or phone number has been changed
- Post or message your contacts from another channel warning them your account was hacked
- Check for any posts, ads, or messages sent by the attacker in your name
First 24 hours
- Enable two-factor authentication immediately once access is restored
- Review and revoke access for any third-party apps connected to the account
- Report the compromise to the platform's trust and safety team
Contact your bank or payment provider
- If payment methods were linked to the account (e.g. marketplace or ad credits), check for unauthorised charges
- Contact your bank if any card was stored in the account and may have been accessed
- Monitor your linked payment accounts for unexpected transactions
Evidence to preserve
- Screenshot any posts or messages made by the attacker
- Check login history in account settings and note unfamiliar devices or locations
- Save a copy of any scam or impersonation content before reporting and deleting it
Secure your accounts and devices
- Update your password to a strong unique one and enable two-factor authentication
- Remove any unknown devices from your trusted devices list
- Check connected apps and revoke access to anything unfamiliar
Report it
- Report to your national fraud/cybercrime service
- Report to the platform, bank, or provider involved
- Keep any reference numbers you're given
Hackers take over social media accounts for several reasons: to scam your followers by posing as you, to run fraudulent ads, to sell the account, or to use it as a launch pad for further attacks. Acting quickly to warn your contacts prevents your friends and family from being scammed.
Once you regain access, change your password to something unique across all your accounts. Reusing passwords is the single biggest reason social media accounts get hacked — if your password appeared in any data breach, attackers will try it on every platform.
Frequently asked questions
The platform says my email address has been changed — what do I do?
Most platforms send a notice to your original email when the account email is changed. Use the link in that email to undo the change. If you no longer have access, use the platform's dedicated hacked-account recovery form.