VERIFY often shares information on how to protect personal information online and tips for avoiding scams. Multiple VERIFY readers, including Tara, reached out to ask about chain posts that claim there’s a new “hack” on Facebook, where scammers can publish inappropriate posts to an account without the owner knowing.
“Apparently someone has found another way to hurt and offend people for No reason. Here is a heads up for everyone. There is a new FB hack. It includes a hurtful phrase coming from you. It is very dirty and appears that you have written it. You will NOT see it but your friends will. This creates many misunderstandings. So to all my contacts. If anything shocking, inappropriate, or indecent appears on my timeline, Please know it did not come from me,” the posts read.
THE QUESTION
Are hackers posting offensive messages on Facebook profiles that the account owner can’t see?
THE SOURCES
VERIFY analysis of Facebook posts
THE ANSWER
No, hackers aren’t posting offensive messages on Facebook profiles that account owners can’t see.
WHAT WE FOUND
There’s no evidence that people are hacking Facebook accounts and sharing posts the account owner can’t see. Despite the hack being described as “new,” similar posts have been circulating for several years.
In 2021, Facebook told AFP Fact Check, “All rumours circulating online around an alleged hack where hurtful comments are posted to a user’s page or sent to their contacts and are not made visible, are simply false.”
Different variations of the viral chain message post have been spreading online since as early as 2011, like this post that says, “Apparently Hackers are busy on Facebook!!! They post some insulting messages on the wall of your friends with your regards, without you knowing about it. If you receive one of those messages in my name, it isn't from me. Put this on your wall and warn your friends. Spread the news!”
In 2019, computer repair company C-Prompt Computers called the chain message a hoax, writing, “I’m unaware of any way that the coding could be manipulated such that you can’t see the objectionable content and your friends can. That would require some kind of access to Facebook’s coding, and your average hacker isn’t going to have that. When your account on Facebook is hacked, the hackers gain access to the same things you see.”
Any posts shared on your Facebook page can be found by viewing your activity log. That’s where you can find any posts you’ve shared, things you’ve been tagged in, your log-in history and more. If something doesn’t show up as a post in your activity log, your friends aren’t able to see it.
Similarly, to see if anything was sent via Messenger to your friends, you can click the Messenger icon on Facebook and select chats to see if anything suspicious or new is there.
It is possible for people to clone Facebook accounts, but this is different from hacking. When someone clones an account, they copy information and photos from a Facebook account and can send requests to all of the original page owners' friends. Scammers use cloned accounts for a variety of schemes, including to “compromise your reputation by posting something inappropriate to your friends or in public,” digital privacy NordVPN explains.
To check if your account has been cloned, you can ask friends or family if they received a friend request from an account with your name or photo or do a search for your name on Facebook.
If you suspect your Facebook account has been compromised, you can report it on Facebook’s website.
VERIFY reached out to Facebook for comment but did not hear back at the time of publication.
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