What to do if Your Social Media Information is Leaked

You come to realize that information has leaked from one of your social media accounts. That’s because this account has been hacked. In such a case, it may be wise to use a background check service like Checkpeople to assess the damages. Read on to learn what other steps you can take to remedy this unpleasant situation.

There Isn’t a Panic Button

As soon as one realizes that one of their social media accounts has been hacked, their first reaction is to try to close it and disassociate themselves with that platform. 

The problem is that closing a social media account isn’t a one-time action. Rather, it is a process that takes about a month to complete. 

So, instead of searching for “The Big Red Button,” you can try securing your account or contacting the platform’s administrators to help you regain access to it.

Find Where Your Social Info Has Leaked 

If you find a photo of yours on a website you’ve never visited, try to contact its admins and explain that it has been taken from one of your social accounts without your permission.

The problem is that oftentimes such an action would require your registration on the said website. If you are lucky enough to find a way to bypass the registration, the admin service may take too long to respond and even longer to take adequate action.

Prevention Is the Best Remedy

Isolating the source of the leak and informing everyone affected may take weeks, even months. So, the best thing to do is to make data leaks from your social media accounts impossible.

To begin with, you can update your passwords or activate two-step login verification. Then, you can review each account’s security settings and adjust them as per your current preferences. 

Make sure that you only share what needs to be shared with the other users and the public. You also have to decide which of your social media accounts should be visible to Google.

Remove Sensitive Info from Your Accounts

If you suspect that personal info has leaked from one of your social accounts, you may want to review the rest and remove any sensitive info from them too. If your company’s social account has been compromised, you need to immediately brief your clients and leads as well as your staff.

If your business was attacked and you suspect the cyberattack was deliberate, you should contact the local office of the data protection authority and request assistance and advice.

Most Social Account Data Leaks are Accidental

Most leaks from a company’s social accounts occur when devices like smartphones or tablets change hands. Therefore, you should establish which staff members are allowed to manage company accounts. Also, instruct your employees to keep shared office devices free of personal info.

Run a Meta Background Check

If you suspect any illicit activity on any of your personal accounts, you can run a background check on yourself to see what info has leaked on the web and where. In most cases, the leaked content is visual material, such as photos or videos.

Photos of real people are used by scammers to create fake profiles on dating sites very often. If photos have leaked from your Instagram account, you will most likely find them on a dating platform. The admins of such platforms have a very strict policy against fake profiles, so you can rely on their full assistance.

Alert Your Contacts

As soon as you learn about a data leak, you should notify all of your contacts about the incident. Their personal info might have been affected as well. 

You should advise them not to respond or take action as requested in suspicious messages sent from your account. In this way, you’re not alone in your efforts to regain control of your compromised social account.

Data Leaks May Cause a Loss of Followers

Social media data leaks are particularly harmful to celebrities, influencers, and YouTubers, as they may cause their followers to lose faith in them. A sizeable crowd of followers may take months, even years to form. One single data breach may cause them to disperse in just a few hours.

If you use your social media accounts to promote something, it’s a good idea to take extra precautions against data leaks. Ideally, you can hire two separate teams – one to manage your social media accounts and the other to monitor them for security breaches. It remains your responsibility as the account holder to set up a strong password, activate two-step sign-in authentication, and take any other safety precautions that may be necessary.