The worst headache in the world is getting your account hacked, even when it’s not your fault.
This is why security researchers are ringing the alarm against a new hacking attempt that is being conducted through fake Occulus Meta accounts.
Remember, it’s better to be safe now than sorry later as recovering your account is another headache on its own, not to mention how there’s no guarantee that you’ll get everything back.
Users of the popular social media app are seeing a surge in account suspension, despite having the proper security measures in place including the ever-so-popular 2FA.
As mentioned by a recently published report by tech news outlet Cybernews, hackers based in Vietnam have started to roll out fake accounts through Oculus Meta that can be linked to actual profiles on the Facebook app. By taking part in this initiative, their act is being blasted as one that’s due to unauthorized access. After all, the email IDs do not match and that causes the victims’ accounts on Facebook to get suspended.
A post generated on the social media app X showed how close to 1000 people were impacted by such a campaign and how this matter is not getting the right kind of attention from Facebook or its parent firm Meta. We might be seeing the campaign expand in a further direction as the hackers responsible might hold profiles belonging to Facebook hostage by not unlinking the fake accounts.
The latest campaign is very hard to keep users safe from and even the likes of 2 Factor Authentication might not assist in such a case.
The reason why such sites are encouraging users to install 2FA is to allow for protection against attempts where an account takeover has a high probability.
After you enable 2FA, hackers would require greater access to user’s email and phone numbers to ensure login of such accounts.
In such cases, 2FA fails in terms of offering protection to users of the app from carrying out account links via unauthorized sources. In normal situations, users would be required to verify who they are before linking one account to the next.
While accounts on Facebook used to be required for the likes of Meta Quest 2, it was removed in 2022. Now, the app’s parent firm generated more new accounts on the Meta platform so users of VR headsets don’t need to sign up for such apps online.
If the 2FA is not working in such cases, you can make use of help centers on Meta and Facebook and have the accounts suspended due to unlawful linking of such accounts.
But the real point worth a discussion here is how Meta needs to address the matter more seriously and prove that they really care. After all, hackers behind such initiatives continually abuse the app and generate chaos to get more gains that they can benefit from personally.
As far as users remaining protected on this front is concerned, there is not a whole lot that anyone can do in this situation. We once used to rely on 2FA and even now, that’s not possible. Accounts can’t be safe.
But experts do feel antivirus software can protect against all malware and a long list of cyber threats that might arise from linking of fake Oculus Meta accounts to the actual Facebook app of users.
Many posts on Reddit have raised attention on this matter in the past and now since the news is getting more publicity, we hope Meta can do something about it because it’s serious.
Image: Digital Information World - AIgen
Read next: Quora Ranking Surges in Search Results on Google, Fuels Speculation of Another Reddit-Like Deal
This is why security researchers are ringing the alarm against a new hacking attempt that is being conducted through fake Occulus Meta accounts.
Remember, it’s better to be safe now than sorry later as recovering your account is another headache on its own, not to mention how there’s no guarantee that you’ll get everything back.
Users of the popular social media app are seeing a surge in account suspension, despite having the proper security measures in place including the ever-so-popular 2FA.
As mentioned by a recently published report by tech news outlet Cybernews, hackers based in Vietnam have started to roll out fake accounts through Oculus Meta that can be linked to actual profiles on the Facebook app. By taking part in this initiative, their act is being blasted as one that’s due to unauthorized access. After all, the email IDs do not match and that causes the victims’ accounts on Facebook to get suspended.
— Dan Astin-Gregory (@danastingregory) February 25, 2024
A post generated on the social media app X showed how close to 1000 people were impacted by such a campaign and how this matter is not getting the right kind of attention from Facebook or its parent firm Meta. We might be seeing the campaign expand in a further direction as the hackers responsible might hold profiles belonging to Facebook hostage by not unlinking the fake accounts.
The latest campaign is very hard to keep users safe from and even the likes of 2 Factor Authentication might not assist in such a case.
The reason why such sites are encouraging users to install 2FA is to allow for protection against attempts where an account takeover has a high probability.
After you enable 2FA, hackers would require greater access to user’s email and phone numbers to ensure login of such accounts.
In such cases, 2FA fails in terms of offering protection to users of the app from carrying out account links via unauthorized sources. In normal situations, users would be required to verify who they are before linking one account to the next.
While accounts on Facebook used to be required for the likes of Meta Quest 2, it was removed in 2022. Now, the app’s parent firm generated more new accounts on the Meta platform so users of VR headsets don’t need to sign up for such apps online.
If the 2FA is not working in such cases, you can make use of help centers on Meta and Facebook and have the accounts suspended due to unlawful linking of such accounts.
But the real point worth a discussion here is how Meta needs to address the matter more seriously and prove that they really care. After all, hackers behind such initiatives continually abuse the app and generate chaos to get more gains that they can benefit from personally.
As far as users remaining protected on this front is concerned, there is not a whole lot that anyone can do in this situation. We once used to rely on 2FA and even now, that’s not possible. Accounts can’t be safe.
But experts do feel antivirus software can protect against all malware and a long list of cyber threats that might arise from linking of fake Oculus Meta accounts to the actual Facebook app of users.
Many posts on Reddit have raised attention on this matter in the past and now since the news is getting more publicity, we hope Meta can do something about it because it’s serious.
Read next: Quora Ranking Surges in Search Results on Google, Fuels Speculation of Another Reddit-Like Deal
