Messenger Hacked? What to Do Right Now to Take Back Your Chats

If your Messenger is hacked, here’s what to do: secure the Facebook account behind it, because Messenger uses your Facebook login. If you can still log in, change your password, sign out of every session you don’t recognize and turn on two-factor authentication. If you’re locked out, go to facebook.com/hacked from a device you’ve used before and follow Meta’s recovery steps. Then warn your friends, because hacked Messenger accounts are mostly used to send scam messages to your contacts.

This guide focuses on the Messenger side: the scam messages, the people who may have been fooled, and the chats that need checking. For the full account recovery process, see our guide on what to do when your Facebook account is hacked.

Signs your Messenger has been hacked

• Friends ask about messages you didn’t send, often links, requests for money or “is this you in this video?”
• Sent messages or chats you don’t recognize, sometimes deleted from your side afterward.
• Security emails from Meta about a new login, password change or email change.
• Logins in your account’s list of active sessions from places or devices you don’t know.
• You’re logged out of Messenger and your password no longer works.

Sometimes it isn’t a hack at all. A scammer may have created a copy of your profile with your name and photo and be messaging your friends from that. Check the profile link on the suspicious messages. If it’s a different account, see the section on impersonation below.

Step 1: If you can still log in

1. Change your password. Use a strong password you haven’t used anywhere else. Do this in Facebook’s settings under password and security, which Meta now manages through Accounts Center.
2. Sign out of unknown sessions. Look for the list of devices where you’re logged in. Log out of any you don’t recognize, or all of them except the device in your hand.
3. Turn on two-factor authentication. An authenticator app or security key is stronger than text messages. Save the backup codes somewhere safe.
4. Check your contact details. Remove any email address or phone number you didn’t add, and make sure yours are still there.
5. Review connected apps and login alerts. Remove apps you don’t recognize and turn on alerts for new logins.

Step 2: If you’re locked out

Use only Meta’s official recovery routes.

• Look for the security email. When the email or password on an account is changed, Meta usually sends a message to the old address. It often includes a link to reverse the change and secure the account.
• Go to facebook.com/hacked. This starts Meta’s process for compromised accounts. Use a device and browser you’ve logged in on before, since Facebook is more likely to recognize them.
• Follow identity checks. Facebook may ask you to confirm your identity, for example with a code, a video selfie or an ID. What’s offered depends on the account.

Once you’re back in, work through the steps in Step 1 straight away.

Step 3: Secure your email account

If a hacker controls the email linked to your Facebook account, they can reset your password again. Change your email password, turn on two-factor authentication there, and check its recovery phone and email. If you think the email itself was hacked, our email account hacked guide covers the steps.

Step 4: Warn your contacts

Hacked Messenger accounts are valuable to scammers because your friends trust messages from you. Common scams include urgent requests for money or gift cards, fake giveaways, crypto “opportunities”, and links to fake login pages that steal the next person’s account.

Warn people quickly, ideally from a channel the hacker doesn’t control, like a text or a post from your recovered account.

My Facebook and Messenger account was hacked earlier today. If you got a message from me asking for money, a code or to click a link, please ignore it and delete it. I’ve secured the account now. If you clicked a link or entered your password, please change your password and turn on two-factor authentication.

If a friend sent money, tell them to contact their bank or payment app right away, and to report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For larger online fraud, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) also takes reports.

Step 5: Check your chats and clean up

• Review recent conversations. Look for messages the hacker sent, including in group chats, and follow up with anyone who replied.
• Check message requests and archived chats. Hackers sometimes hide conversations there.
• Look at your profile and posts. A hacked account may also have posted on your timeline or changed your name and photo.
• Check Marketplace and payments. Remove listings you didn’t create and check saved payment methods.
• Check linked accounts. If Instagram is linked in Accounts Center, secure it too. Our guide to an Instagram account hacked covers that.

Messenger chats are end-to-end encrypted by default in many cases, which means your chat history may be protected by a PIN or backup method you set. If you’re asked to restore chats after recovery, only use the restore options inside Messenger itself.

How Messenger accounts usually get hacked

• Phishing links in messages, often from a friend’s hacked account, leading to fake Facebook login pages.
• Reused passwords leaked in a breach elsewhere. Check with our guide to Have I Been Pwned.
• Login code scams, where someone asks you to forward a code that Facebook texted you.
• Malware or suspicious browser extensions.
• Shared or lost devices that were still logged in.

Worked example: a “is this you?” link

This scenario is illustrative, not a real client. Rosa gets a message from her cousin: “Is this you in this video?” with a link. She clicks, sees what looks like a Facebook login page and signs in. An hour later, her aunt texts to ask why Rosa is sending the same link to everyone.

1. Rosa can still log in. She changes her password and signs out of every other session.
2. She turns on two-factor authentication using an authenticator app.
3. She finds a new email address added to her account and removes it.
4. She posts a short warning to her friends and texts her cousin, whose account was hacked the same way.
5. She checks her group chats and finds two friends who clicked the link, and sends them the recovery steps.

Common mistakes

• Only changing the Messenger password. Messenger uses your Facebook account, so secure that and your email.
• Not signing out of other sessions. The hacker may still be logged in.
• Waiting to warn friends. The scam messages spread quickly.
• Paying a recovery service. Use Meta’s official routes only.
• Sharing login codes. Never forward a code to anyone, even a friend.

If someone is impersonating you instead

If the messages are coming from a copy of your profile, report it as a fake account pretending to be you, and ask friends to report it too. Our guide to reporting a Facebook account explains how. If the hack or impersonation has damaged your reputation, for example posts or messages that people now associate with you, our personal reputation management team can help you work out what to do next.

Frequently asked questions

Can Messenger be hacked without Facebook being hacked?

Messenger uses your Facebook account in most cases, so if someone is using your Messenger, they usually have access to your Facebook account. Secure the Facebook account, sign out of unknown sessions and turn on two-factor authentication.

How do I see who is logged in to my Messenger?

In Facebook’s settings, look under password and security in Accounts Center for the list of places you’re logged in. From there you can log out of devices you don’t recognize.

What should I tell friends who got scam messages from me?

Tell them the account was hacked, not to send money or codes, and not to click links. Anyone who entered a password on a link should change it and turn on two-factor authentication.

Will I get my old messages back after recovering Messenger?

Usually, yes, but it depends on how the chats were stored. For end-to-end encrypted chats, you may need the PIN or backup method you set up to restore history on a new device.