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How to Keep Your Facebook Account Safe

A visit from Sharon Beeler's grandson doesn't come too often. Thanks to Facebook, pictures and videos keep her updated and connected with her pride and joy. It also helps her reminisce on friendships.

“I lost a really good friend a few years back,” Beeler said. “I would go back on her anniversary of her death. All of our chats are inbox chats were still alive between her and I even though she wasn't here. I could read them on a sad day. I could read them on a happy day or if I just wanted to share a day with her and have a laugh or a cry; I could go there."

It’s a source of comfort that helped Beeler heal, but all of those memories were gone in a flash.

“While I was on Facebook I got this message telling me I had logged in from Baghdad. I'm sitting in Texas. I know I’m not in Baghdad,” she said.

For three days, Beeler got the same type of message, and each time, she changed her password.

“On day three, they did it through the night while I was sleeping,” she explained. “They managed to get in. They managed to change my g-mail account to their email account.”

Locked out and unsure of what to do she searched the site for help to get her account back.

Like many viewers that have contacted NBC 5 Responds, she said finding help on Facebook wasn’t easy.

“I looked for an hour and 45 minutes and I couldn't find nowhere to find anything,” said Beeler.

We connected her with the Facebook media team.

For anyone in the same position as Beeler, they say to visit Facebook.com/hacked.

And remember, there is no customer service number for Facebook.

Beeler has since been able to recover her account. She’s now reconnected with an old friend and her precious grandson.

If you ever get a notification that someone is trying to log into your account, here are Samantha Chatman’s Solutions:

• Always go directly to Facebook to change your information.
• Googling "Facebook Help" can be very tricky. There are many sites that have phone numbers offering help and most aren't even associated with Facebook.
• Never give out your account information to anyone outside the actual site.
• It's tedious, but back up your pictures; the photos you're tagged in and the albums you post. Sharon had her wedding photos on Facebook and they would have been lost had she not been able to recover her profile.

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