This guide will help you better understand the ways that the Messaging features on Facebook could potentially open you up to hackers. You should use the information provided for you in this guide to ensure that you are always using Facebook safely, as to avoid any potential malicious behavior associated with your account.
Can I Get Hacked By Opening a Message on Messenger?
You cannot be hacked by simply opening and viewing a Facebook message. If the only interaction that you have with a Facebook message is opening and viewing the contents of the message, this will not cause you to be hacked.
Hackers and scammers depend on particular interactions with the messages that they send in attempts to gain access to someone’s profile. As long as you do not interact with the contents of the message in any way, other than simply reading them, your account and information will remain inaccessible to them.
It is actually recommended that you open any suspicious messages and inspect their content so that you can report any malicious messages to Facebook. This is a way that you can help keep the Facebook application safe for all users and discourage hackers from attempting to access other people’s profiles.
Examples of messages that you should avoid replying to are messages from people you do not know, messages with links to external websites or other Facebook pages, messages asking for personal information, and other generally suspicious messages.
As long as you are using your best judgment while using the Facebook application, it is generally difficult for a hacker to obtain access to someone’s profile. Rest assured that simply viewing a message on Facebook will never get your account hacked or compromised.
Can You Get Hacked By Replying To A Facebook Message?
Replying to a Facebook message from a suspicious user could cause your account to become hacked. Once you begin to interact with suspicious and potentially malicious messages that you receive on Facebook, your chances of having your account compromised increase exponentially.
These messages could be an attempt to get a user to unknowingly divulge information that could potentially help a hacker more easily access your account. Depending on the nature of your reply to the message and also the intent of the original message, you could very easily find yourself in a situation where you are putting your account at risk.
Some examples of messages to avoid replying to are messages asking for birthday information, location or alumni information, or emails and other account information. All of this information can be used by a hacker to gain access to your account one way or another.
It is better to just not reply to these types of messages, but if you choose to it is vital that you do not divulge any pertinent information in your reply. This can help ensure that your account is kept safe and secure. You should also consider reporting the user who has sent you these types of messages to Facebook for investigation.
Can You Get A Virus From Opening A Facebook Message?
You cannot get a virus from opening a Facebook message. That being said, depending on your interactions with a suspicious message, you could wind up inadvertently downloading a virus to your PC or mobile device if you are not careful.
If the message contains download links or links to other websites, clicking on these could infect your device with viruses, malware, or spyware. All of these will be extremely problematic should your device become infected with them.
Hackers use these links to entice users of Facebook to click on them and inadvertently allow the installation of malicious software on their devices. It is wise to never open links that your receive in Facebook messages from users that you do not know.
This can help you avoid potentially installing dangerous software on your devices. You should report any Facebook users that send you suspicious messages containing links to Facebook so that they can investigate the user.
What Happens If You Open A Message From Someone Who Has Been Hacked On Facebook?
If you simply open a message on Facebook that has been sent from someone who has been hacked, you will likely not suffer any negative consequences. That being said, if you choose to interact with the message in some way, you open yourself up to the risk of potentially having your account hacked or compromised.
Hackers could be impersonating someone you know on Facebook after gaining access to their account. This could cause you to leak sensitive information about your own account that could be used to gain access to it.
This is a rarer occurrence, as most hackers will employ bots to send their messages out once they have gained access to a profile. These messages will often read strangely and will be easily identified if you know the person that they are impersonating very well.
If you receive a message from one of your Facebook friends that seems a little off, you should consider the fact that their account could have been hacked and a bot is sending messages from their profile. These bots are designed to gain access to more profiles by using familiarity to help trick users to divulge sensitive information.
If you know the Facebook friend whose account you have received these types of messages from in real life or have them added as a friend on another social media platform, you should consider contacting them there. This could help you confirm if they sent you the suspicious message or not. In almost all cases the user will not have sent the message, confirming that their account has been hacked.
What Happens If You Reply To A Hacked Facebook Message?
Replying to a Facebook message from a hacked user could cause your own account to become hacked. Once you begin to interact with suspicious and potentially malicious messages that you receive on Facebook from a hacked profile,
These messages could be an attempt to get a user to unknowingly divulge information that could potentially help a hacker more easily access your account. Depending on the nature of your reply to the message sent from a hacked profile and also the intent of the original message, you could very easily find yourself in a situation where you are putting your account at risk.
Some examples of messages to avoid replying to are messages asking for birthday information, location or alumni information, or emails and other account information. All of this information can be used by a hacker to gain access to your account one way or another.
It is better to just not reply to these types of messages, but if you choose to it is vital that you do not divulge any pertinent information in your reply. This can help ensure that your account is kept safe and secure. You should also consider reporting the user who has sent you these types of messages to Facebook for investigation.
Generally, you will be able to tell if someone you know on Facebook is sending messages that seem suspicious or out of character. There is a possibility that the user may not know their account has been compromised. You should reach out to the user that has sent you these types of suspicious messages and attempt to get to the bottom of the situation.
What Happens If You Click A Link From A Hacked Facebook Account?
Links are the number one way that hackers attempt to gain access to someone’s Facebook profile through messages. These links generally lead to outside applications or websites that will attempt to get the user to willingly supply sensitive information.
This information could then be used to access your Facebook account or worse, other accounts like your bank account. The websites that these external links send you to are often set up in a way that entices the user to supply this information.
Common examples of these types of sites include websites claiming that you have won a free prize, websites claiming to offer some form of service for no charge or other suspicious giveaways that require your Facebook account information to enter.
If you provide this information, it will be used to gain access to your Facebook account as well as any other accounts that they can get into with it. This can lead to your money being stolen or your identity being stolen as well.
Other links sent in Facebook messages from hacked profiles will be put in place to install malicious software like viruses, malware, and spyware on your device without you knowing. These download links will be disguised as another type of software or link and will automatically start the download process once a user has clicked on them.
Viruses on your device will cause functionality errors that could potentially completely render it inoperable. Malware and spyware could be used to gain access to more sensitive accounts like your bank account, PayPal account, or other financial institution.
It is best to never, under any circumstances, click on links in messages sent from people that you do not know on Facebook. You can safely assume that any strange link sent to you on Facebook from someone you do not know is malicious and could potentially open your Facebook account up to being hacked more easily.
Is It Safe To Open A Message Request On Messenger?
You cannot be hacked on Facebook by opening a message request in the Facebook Messaging app. The Message Request folder is where all of the messages your receive from people you are not friends with on Facebook are filed.
In this folder, you will be able to view and approve the initial message. This will allow the user to engage in conversation with you freely, and their message will be moved to your main Facebook Messaging inbox.
It is quite common to check the Message Request folder and see many suspicious messages there. These messages are often from strangers and contain links or questions about personal information. You should deny all message requests from these types of users and report their profiles to Facebook for investigation.
As long as you do not approve and interact with strange, potentially dangerous messages found in your Message Request folder, you will not be at risk by simply viewing the message. After you deny the message request, it will be deleted from the Message Request folder. You should consider blocking the user from contacting you before completing the deny process. This will keep them from contacting you in any way in the future.
How To Prevent Getting Hacked Via Facebook Message
Now that you understand more about the different ways that Facebook messages could potentially open you up to being hacked, you can start to examine some of the behaviors and precautions that could help you avoid having your account hacked.
All of the preventative measures listed below will help you keep your account more secure. It is important to always use your best judgment while using the Facebook Messaging application. While Facebook is known for making connections and new friends, it is not always wise to accept and respond to every message request that you get.
1. Do Not Click Links From Profiles You Do Not Know
The number one way that you can keep your profile safe from hackers is to never, under any circumstances, click a link in a message from a user that you do not know on Facebook. These links are almost a hundred percent of the time malicious and have been sent to you in an attempt to get you to divulge sensitive information willingly or unknowingly.
This information would then be used to gain access to your Facebook account or worse, your financial accounts. This could cause you an extreme amount of trouble should they gain access to some of your more pertinent account information.
It is best to avoid clicking links in messages on Facebook for this reason. Links that you receive from people you know are generally safe, but keep in mind that the users account could have been hacked prior to sending you the link, which could put you at risk of being hacked.
It is safe practice to double-check with the user before opening any link sent to you on Facebook. If you are able to confirm the link’s legitimacy with the person who sent it to you, then you can safely open it without any issues.
2. Do Not Give Personal Information Out To Someone You Do Not Know
You should never give out personal information to someone you do not know on Facebook. If you receive a Facebook message attempting to strike up a conversation with a stranger and reply, you should carefully monitor the situation for any suspicious signs.
If the conversation starts leading toward them asking you for increasingly more sensitive information, like your birthday, age, location, or alumni status, this is a strong indication that they are attempting to gauge you for information that will be used maliciously.
You should immediately cease all communication with these types of users and report them to Facebook for further investigation. As long as you do not give them any information about yourself, they will likely not be able to access your account.
That being said, hackers are extremely tricky and can use special conversational methods to get users to unknowingly reveal this type of information. It is generally best to just not reply to messages from strangers on Facebook.
3. Do Not Accept Message Requests From Strangers
You should avoid accepting message requests from strangers on Facebook. This can help cut down on your chances of engaging in a conversation with someone who is trying to gain access to your Facebook account.
The Message Request folder on Facebook contains all of the messages sent from people you are not currently friends with. It common to check this folder and see many messages sent from profiles that you do not. These messages generally contain many of the suspicious elements detailed in this guide.
You can deny the Message Request of these types of messages to have them removed from this folder. They will have to manually send the message again if they wish to reach you, where it will sit in the Message Request folder for you to deny again.
To avoid this type of back and forth, you should consider blocking the profile of a user who has sent you this type of message and report them to Facebook for further investigation.
4. Do Not Reply To Strange Messages From People You Do Not Know
One of the best ways you can keep your Facebook account secure is to simply not reply or acknowledge messages sent from strangers. You should use your best judgment to decide if the contents of the messages are relevant to you or if it seems suspicious.
Use the detailed information regarding suspicious messaging behaviors and contents provided for you in this guide to help you make the right choice. While some friendships have started on Facebook by simply sending a message to a stranger, it is generally safer to avoid this type of behavior while using the application.
5. Report All Suspicious Messages And Profiles To Facebook
You should report any and all suspicious activity that you encounter while using Facebook to the Facebook Support staff. Doing so will ensure that the application is safe and secure for everyone to use by removing and discouraging this type of behavior.
Facebook has a strict policy regarding hacking, phishing, and other malicious behaviors. Accounts that are found to be in violation of these policies will be met with a permanent ban from the Facebook platform and in some cases, legal litigation.
Everyone should do their part to report these types of messages and the users who send them so that they can be removed from the application. You can report a message by holding down on it while viewing it in the Messenger application.
Holding down on the suspicious message will bring up the Facebook Messenger menu and the controls related to the message in question. You will see the Report option in this list. Select the Report option and follow the on-screen prompt to properly report your issue to Facebook.
Once you have submitted your report, Facebook will begin the investigation process and if the profile is determined to be malicious, it will be removed from the Facebook platform permanently.
Final Thoughts
This guide has provided you with all of the different ways that you could potentially be hacked while using Facebook’s messaging features. You should use this guide and the preventative measures found here to ensure that your Facebook profile is safe and secure.