YOUR Facebook account is in danger of being hacked by cybercriminals.
This is according to Meta, which recently identified more than 400 malicious Android and iOS apps that target people across the internet to steal their Facebook login details.
In a warning released on Friday, Meta, which is the parent company of Facebook, encouraged people to be cautious when downloading news apps which require social media credentials.
The company said their researchers discovered there were apps listed on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store designed to compromise people’s accounts.
Meta said the apps were disguised as photo editors, games, VPN services, business apps and other utilities to trick people into downloading them.
According to Internet Matters, streaming and downloading content from illegal sites can expose consumers to cyber threats. In this case, for example, people would have to use their login details to access an app they would have downloaded on their site.
Depending on whether the app is malicious, one would be in danger of giving out personal details to cyber criminals and ultimately having their Facebook account hacked.
Meta’s shared the following tips to consider before using your Facebook login details to access apps:
- Be suspicious of a photo-editing app that needs your Facebook login and password before allowing you to use it.
- Avoid downloading apps that are not being used by many people. The download count and reviews should help in this case.
- If the app does not offer features as advertised, log out and uninstall it immediately.
Meta has also advised those who believe that they might have logged in using their credentials on a malicious app to reset and create new strong passwords.
Remember, avoid using and saving your password across multiple websites.
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