Introduction
In today's digital age, social media platforms like Facebook have become integral to staying connected with friends and family. However, as convenient as these platforms are, they also pose significant privacy and security risks — especially for high-profile individuals.
Why Facebook accounts are targeted
For high-net-worth individuals, a compromised Facebook account can be used to:
- Impersonate you to defraud friends and family
- Harvest information used in social engineering attacks
- Access connected apps including financial tools linked to your Facebook login
- Expose your network revealing business associates, family members, and travel patterns
Step-by-step lockdown guide
1. Enable two-factor authentication
Go to Settings → Security and Login → Two-Factor Authentication. Use an authenticator app (not SMS). This single step blocks the vast majority of account takeover attempts.
2. Review active sessions
Under Security and Login → Where You're Logged In, remove any sessions you don't recognize. Log out of all devices if anything looks suspicious.
3. Limit who can see your information
- Set your Friends list to Only Me
- Set your phone number and email to Only Me
- Set future posts default to Friends (not Public)
- Review and clean up your About section
4. Audit third-party app access
Go to Settings → Apps and Websites. Remove any app you no longer use or don't recognize. Each connected app is a potential attack surface.
5. Lock your profile
Facebook's Profile Lock feature (available in Settings) restricts what non-friends can see. Enable it.
6. Set up login alerts
Enable Get alerts about unrecognized logins under Security and Login. You will be notified immediately if someone logs in from an unknown device.
Ongoing hygiene
Review your Facebook security settings quarterly. As your connections change and new features are added, your exposure can increase without any action on your part.
Your Enguard specialist can conduct a full social media exposure audit as part of your annual security review.