Hackers?

[Vanessa Elmes]

Today I found another account on my Facebook app log in screen. It was under a shorten version of my name with no last name and the profile picture was one of my photos but I have not posted this photo on my Facebook account. I posted a screenshot on my Facebook account to warn my friends and it was suggested that I have been hacked. I downloaded anti-spyware app and nothing came up. Is it possible that my phone has been hacked with just the phone number?

 

[mikedt]

Has anyone else had unsupervised access to your phone? Maybe it's your FB account that's been compromised? Suggest you change passwords, and enable two-factor login.

 

[Vanessa Elmes]

Has anyone else had unsupervised access to your phone? Maybe it's your FB account that's been compromised? Suggest you change passwords, and enable two-factor login.

Nope, no-one has access to my phone and they need my finger print in order to get into it.
It's a completely different Facebook account with profile picture that is not on my Facebook account but it's in my phone. I removed it from my device to see what happens and I sent a screenshot to Facebook.

 

[Hadron]

People do create fake "clone" Facebook accounts, usually to scam others. But the key question is how someone got hold of the photo. Have you ever sent/posted it anywhere? Do you have a cloud backup of your photos (e.g. Google Photos)? If so you should check whether any devices you don't recognise have accessed that account (accessing your Google account would be the easiest way of getting at the contents of your phone).

 

[puppykickr]

Don't expect any real concern from Facebook- other than the typical 'Security is very important to us' B.S.

Anyway, are you using Google photos?
Or any other cloud storage for your photos?

Other than that, I don't know how access to the picture could be had.

Keep in mind that the picture you took most likely has a duplicate of lower quality somewhere else on the device.

This is a 'thumbnail' and is used by you/apps to find the main photo.

This thumbnail can be compromised, as many apps could create/access it.


Check to see if your Gallery app and your Camera app have internet access.

If they do, then I would use different apps.
(That is what I do, because those apps and other built in apps had similar permissions.)

https://www.simplemobiletools.com/

 

[Milo Williamson]

Yeah change your password really frequent, and just do like an uncommon password that no one will ever get, even with a stage name or even something that you only know. I save mine in an offline word, instead of pinning it in a stickie notepad, I have a few dozen of them just scattered across my room..

 

[Vanessa Elmes]

Don't expect any real concern from Facebook- other than the typical 'Security is very important to us' B.S.

Anyway, are you using Google photos?
Or any other cloud storage for your photos?


Other than that, I don't know how access to the picture could be had.

Keep in mind that the picture you took most likely has a duplicate of lower quality somewhere else on the device.

This is a 'thumbnail' and is used by you/apps to find the main photo.

This thumbnail can be compromised, as many apps could create/access it.


Check to see if your Gallery app and your Camera app have internet access.

If they do, then I would use different apps.
(That is what I do, because those apps and other built in apps had similar permissions.)

https://www.simplemobiletools.com/

I have a Google Pixel 3 so everything is Google on my phone. I rarely give apps access to my files, or anything else on my phone. What's confusing me the most is that the log in for that account came up on the Facebook app on my phone. For that to happen I would have to login into it from my phone. It really is strange and my phone has been acting buggy lately but it is 18 months old now so I do expect some issues now

 

[puppykickr]

Are you using the FB app?
It is very intrusive.

Using a browser is much more secure.

Sharing photos directly from your Gallery, rather than from within the FB app, is also much more secure.

Think of it this way...
when you want to share a photo while inside the app, and you see the photos appear, are they in the same order as when you look through your Gallery?

Probably not.

And the idea that FB instantly scans everything that runs through when you search for material to share is just a security nightmare.

 

[Hadron]

It really is strange and my phone has been acting buggy lately but it is 18 months old now so I do expect some issues now

Why do you expect issues? An 18-month old phone, especially one that is still getting monthly security updates, should not have any issues.

My phone is 39 months old, and the only issue is that the battery is beginning to age. And frankly even that is a disappointment (I blame this "fast charging with no option to turn it off" nonsense for the fact that it has degraded a bit quicker than my previous device). If you expect problems with an 18 month old device you have set your expectations too low, which only serves the manufacturers interests and not yours.