If you’re like most online course creators or small digital business owners, then you’ve likely built much of your empire on Facebook ads.
By harnessing the power of this platform, you can connect, engage, and grow your audience, turning clicks into customers.
Now, imagine the shock of discovering that your Facebook ad account, the backbone of your digital kingdom, has been hacked overnight.
Yep, that gut-wrenching scenario? It happened to us.
But, as they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, or at least, a lot wiser in our case.
Today, I’m flipping our misfortune and turning them into valuable lessons for you.
We know how hard you’ve worked to build your business, and we want to make sure you’re armed against these hackers.
In this blog post, I’ll share everything and outline essential steps to help you prevent hackers from getting into your Facebook ad accounts.
Table of Contents
What Exactly Do Hackers Gain From Hacking Into Your Facebook Ad Account?
You may be wondering: why would hackers target your Facebook ad account to begin with?
Simply put, they’re not just doing this for fun.
It’s a calculated move to use your ad account for their gain.
When hackers infiltrate your ad account, their goal is to launch unauthorized campaigns that direct traffic to affiliate offers.
This allows them to earn commissions on any sales generated, all at your expense —they fund these campaigns using the credit cards and payment methods saved in your business manager.
They’re also taking advantage of your ad account’s good track record and reputation.
Since they’re planning to run spammy ad campaigns, using a new ad account is more likely to be limited to a few campaigns at a time.
Their solution? Use your ad account instead and have the power to launch multiple ad campaigns from the get-go..
Essentially, they’re making money off your back and reputation, generating commissions from sales while you foot the bill.
How Much Damage Could Facebook Ad Account Hackers Cause?
In the wake of a hack, you face losing control over your ad account, sometimes permanently.
This loss means restarting your advertising campaigns from scratch, a setback that not only affects your marketing reach but also places your business growth on an unplanned hiatus.
The ensuing disruption can lead to significant revenue losses—thousands of dollars that could have been invested back into growing your enterprise.
Apart from the operational disruption, a hacking incident also brings about an administrative nightmare.
For me personally, I spent the next few weeks tediously contacting banks, canceling and replacing compromised credit cards, disconnecting and securing new payment methods, and engaging in exhausting communications with Facebook support in hopes of recovery.
You’ll also spend hours checking and double-checking all your accounts to ensure that no other areas of your business are vulnerable, followed by the laborious task of setting up new accounts where necessary.
This administrative burden diverts crucial resources and energy away from your core business operations, leading to frustration and lost opportunity.
What Should I Do If My Facebook Ad Account Got Hacked?
First and foremost, it’s vital to understand that falling victim to a Facebook ad account hack doesn’t reflect your capabilities or awareness as a business owner or marketer.
Even the most secure and vigilant among us can be outmaneuvered by the increasingly sophisticated tactics employed by hackers today.
These individuals or groups are often part of well-organized cybercriminal networks with resources dedicated to exploiting any vulnerability.
Recognize that you’re the victim here, caught in the crosshairs of a highly skilled team of hackers. There’s no shame in this; it’s a challenging experience that too many of us in the digital space may face.
Now, let’s get to what you should do if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation:
Step 1: Contact Facebook immediately
The first and most crucial step is to get in touch with Facebook. You can do this by filling out their online form or reporting the issue through your ads manager.
You’ll need to provide as much information as possible, including evidence of unauthorized activity, so be sure to have documents ready such as screenshots of suspicious ad campaigns or emails from Facebook about changes made on your account.
Step 2: Cut connections
Remove any associated partners or clients from your business manager promptly to prevent the hack from affecting them.
In our case, we were able to do this because we also had access to our clients’ business manager accounts. So we logged in to their accounts and removed the hacked account from their organization.
Step 3: Freeze your cards
Immediately freeze any credit cards linked to your ad accounts to stop hackers from making unauthorized transactions.
You should also contact your bank or credit card company to report the hack and request a new card.
Step 4: Delete all payment methods in your Facebook ad account
Remove all stored payment methods from your account to further secure your financial information against unauthorized use.
The sooner the funds dry up for these hackers, the sooner they’ll give up control of the account.
Step 5: Document everything
Make screenshots of your account activities and balances before the hack to assist in any future claims or reimbursement processes.
It also serves as a helpful reference for any changes made by the hackers.
How Can I Protect My Facebook Ad Account From Hackers?
Now that you know how damaging getting hacked can be, let’s go through some essential steps to prevent it from happening in the future.
Step 1: Implement Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your account by requiring a second form of verification, usually a code sent to your phone or email, before granting access.
This makes it harder for hackers to gain unauthorized access to your account.
Additional tip: Require everyone who has access to your business manager to implement 2FA. You can set this up in your business manager admin settings.
Step 2: Use Strong, Unique Passwords
Use a password manager like OnePassword to create and securely store complex passwords. Update these regularly to enhance security.
Step 3: Monitor Access to Your Business Manager
Consistently review and adjust who has access to your business manager.
Remove access for those who no longer need it to close potential security gaps – these could be former employees, contractors, or consultants who at one time or another needed access to your business manager account.
Step 4: Secure Your Personal Facebook Account
Keep an eye on your account activity, review connected devices regularly, and stay alert to phishing attempts that could compromise your account and, by extension, your business.
Step 5: Educate Your Team on Cybersecurity
Train your team to recognize phishing scams, adhere to cybersecurity best practices, and understand the critical role of secure account credentials. This will build an alert and responsible environment.
What Happens Next? The Aftermath Of A Facebook Ad Account Hack
From our own tough lesson, we’ve learned that it hits harder than just losing money.
Imagine, we were locked out of our ad accounts for more than two months.
No ads, no revenue – it was like hitting pause on our business while everything else zoomed by.
And it turns out, we’re not alone in this.
Many businesses find themselves stuck waiting for help and solutions from platforms like Facebook, which can be very time- and energy-consuming.
It’s a clear signal to us all: relying on just one method to generate leads is risky.
Relying on just one platform for generating leads, like Facebook, can be a gamble.
We’ve experienced the consequences firsthand.
A solid strategy to reduce this risk is to focus on building and nurturing your email list.
Your email list is something you own outright, giving you the autonomy to reach out to your audience directly, without the fear of external disruptions affecting your communication.
This approach ensures that your marketing efforts can remain steady and effective, regardless of what happens on other platforms.
If there’s one thing to take away from all the ups and downs we’ve been through, it’s this – your email list is gold.
It’s been our secret sauce for keeping sales coming, no matter what else was going on.
So, whatever you’re doing—running ads or posting on social media—always focus on growing that email list.
Curious about how we use our email list to sell courses and high-ticket programs?
Get my free guide below and see how you can do it for your business.
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