Facebook, account hacked?

Question

A friend of mine appears to have her account hacked. I got this chat message from her:

[removed]

(warning: this URL links to a trojan)

She did not send this message. What's happening here?

Answer 1

If you have a way to reach your friend directly - phone or text preferably, contact them right away so that they can take steps on their own to secure their account.

Email may work too, but offline contacts are better just in case the email's been compromised as well.

Facebook has a guide to securing an account, but the highlights are:

• Change Facebook password and security questions right away.
• Change passwords and security questions on all email accounts associated with the Facebook account right away.
• Check the computer you use for accessing Facebook to make sure it's secure.
• Check applications authorized on your Facebook account and remove any you don't remember adding.

If you can't reach your friend directly, try phwd's link to contact Facebook support about another user's account being hacked. Facebook will likely disable the account and make them jump through hoops to regain control, but it's the best way to limit the damage if you can't get in touch with them quickly, or if they find that they are locked out of their account.