Facebook Marketplace has become a popular platform for buying and selling goods, with more than a billion users buying and selling goods on Facebook Marketplace each month, but with its rise in popularity, scams have also increased. Unfortunately, the majority of today’s scams originate from hacked genuine accounts, where thieves use stolen login credentials to commit identity theft so they can pose as legitimate sellers.

It's crucial to stop your Facebook from being hacked because a hacked account can lead to identity theft, compromised personal data, and even financial losses. Hackers can also use your account to send malicious links, spread malware, and steal sensitive information such as credit card numbers, passwords, and addresses. Additionally, a hacked account can also be used to spread fake news, propaganda, and other harmful content that can damage your online reputation and relationships.

How to protect your Facebook account from being hacked:

- Create a Secure Password.
- Enable two-factor authentication.
- Make your account private.
- Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
- Don’t click suspicious links on Facebook.
- Block suspicious people.

If you have been hacked please find support links below:
Hacked and fake accounts | Facebook Help Centre
If you think that your Facebook account was hacked or someone is using it without your permission | Facebook Help Centre
Facebook - Report compromised account.

ProtonMail is currently the worlds largest secure email service which offers end-to-end encryption and lots of other great security-based features to keep your communications private.

Is Proton Mail Safe and Secure?
ProtonMail is based in Switzerland with some of the strictest privacy laws, with end-to-end encryptions, no one except you and the recipient can view your emails. The great thing is, you can even send encrypted emails to non-ProtonMail users too! Also, two-factor authentication is built in as an additional layer of protection and is a really secure way of preventing third parties from being able to access data while it’s being transferred between systems or devices, so you can rest assured that no one will be snooping through your inbox or intercepting your correspondence.

Why switch to Proton Mail?
If you’ve got an email account with a mainstream provider, chances are it doesn’t use end-to-end encryption. The big difference between a secure email service like ProtonMail and a standard email service such as Gmail, BT or Outlook is that it provides a lot more security and privacy for its users.

Spam
Proton Mail uses a smart spam detection system to automatically filter messages to your Spam folder or inbox and custom folders. ProtonMail are constantly improving their spam filtering system, but like any email provider some spam messages may slip through their filters, and some legitimate messages may be mislabelled as spam.

Anonymity
Another great thing about ProtonMail is the fact that it allows you to get complete anonymity if you want it. You don’t even need to input any personal data when you create your account, so your privacy will be completely protected. And by default, ProtonMail doesn’t track IP addresses, so there’s no information that an outsider could use to tie you to that account. That way, you know your emails are completely private.

ProtonMail Free
The free account comes with 1GB of storage. This isn’t loads, but it’s enough if you like to keep your inbox clean and aren’t sending or receiving hi-res images or videos. Since you can always see how much space is left, you can easily manage how it’s used or upgrade to ProtonMail Plus for more storage. The free account is also capped to 150 emails a day which, for 9 out of 10 people, is more than enough.

ProtonMail Plus
The premium email plan offers more premium features and some additional organization and productivity tools for £2.94 a month (€3.49). This includes 15GB of storage, unlimited messages a day, 10 Email addresses, support for one custom domain email is also available if you want to use a personalized email address instead of a ‘@protonmail.com’ one. Also, the plus plan will include contact groups, email client support, auto-reply and catch-all email functions.

Proton Unlimited
The unlimited comes with unlimited featured from the entire Proton product line. 500GB of storage, 15 email addresses, unlimited folders, unlimited messages per day, 3 custom domain email addresses, priority support and access to Proton calendar, proton drive and proton VPN. All for £6.73 a month (€7.99).

Scam calls are now the most common crime in the UK. We have all had scam calls and it can be hard to tell the difference between a scam and a legitimate phone call. With scam calls getting more and more frequent it's important to know some of the typical tricks that scammers use so you can be prepared.

Bank scams - Someone may call you claiming to be from your bank telling you there’s a problem with your card or account. The caller will often sound professional and try to convince you that your card has been cloned or that your money is at risk. They may ask you for your account and card details, including your PIN, and even offer to send a courier to collect your bank card! They may also advise transferring your money to a ‘safe account’ to protect it, which would be the scammer's account. This is a common scam and your bank would never ask you to do this.

Computer Repair scams - Hello sir/ madam, I’m calling you from Microsoft. Does this sound familiar? This is possibly the most common type of scam call. The caller will tell you that your computer has a virus and will ask you to download ‘anti-virus software’, possibly at a cost. The software they ask you to download is spyware software which is used to get your personal details. It is important to remember that Microsoft NEVER calls anyone, other legitimate IT companies also don’t contact customers this way.

HMRC scams - You may get a call from someone claiming to be from HMRC saying there is an issue with your tax refund or an unpaid tax bill. They may leave a message and ask you to call back. Again, don’t be fooled by this. HMRC would never contact you this way and would never ask you to reveal personal financial information such as your bank account details.

Compensation calls - This is a call from a company asking about a car accident you’ve supposedly had claiming you may be entitled to compensation. Some of these could be genuine companies looking for business but others are scammers. Don’t engage in these calls. If you’ve had an accident, call your own insurance company on the phone number provided on your policy.

‘Anti-Scam’ scams - This is a call from someone claiming to be from a charity supporting scam victims, a company selling anti-scam technology, or from someone demanding money to renew your Telephone Preference Service registration, which is free.

Other popular scams to be aware of are, Number Spoofing scams which are new technology scammers use to mimic an official telephone number so it comes up on your caller ID display. Pensions and Investment scams, nuisance calls about pensions are now illegal. If you receive a call about your pension, report it straight away. Pop-Up scams are webpages that pop up with either loud beeps or a voice that ask you to call the number provided because your computer has been damaged. Be alert to all of these.

The BBC showed scammers at work in an Indian call centre, recorded by an activist who hacked into the hacker's security cameras. The scammers were seen laughing at their victims in the US and the UK. Click the video below to watch:

What should I do if I get a scam call? Older people are often the biggest target for scammers, also people who have been successfully scammed before are at a much greater risk of being scammed again because the scammers now know you’re an easy target. It’s important to be aware of phone scams and how to handle them. Fortunately, there are things you can do to protect yourself:

Don’t reveal personal details – Never give out personal or financial information (such as your bank account details or your pin) over the phone, even if the caller claims to be from your bank. Most callers will also ask you to log into your online bank account on your computer, which you should never do.
Hang up – If you feel harassed or intimidated, or if the caller talks over you without giving you a chance to speak, end the call. It may feel rude to hang up on someone, but you have the right not to be pressurised into anything. It’s also worth remembering if a scammer was unsuccessful at scamming you they mark you down as unsuccessful, eventually they won't waste any more of their time trying to scam you if you don’t let them.

Ring the organisation – If you’re unsure whether the caller is genuine, you can always ring the company or bank they claim to be from. Make sure you find the number yourself and don’t use the one provided by the caller. Remember, a lot of these legit companies scammers claim to call you from don’t call anyone.

Don’t be rushed – Scammers will try to rush you into providing your personal details. They may say they have a time-limited offer or claim your bank account is at risk if you don’t give them the information they need right away. Remember, if you’re not sure, hang up the call and call the organisation they claim to be from.

What should I do if I’ve been a victim of a scam? Scammers are constantly finding new ways to trick people and phone scams are changing all the time. If you’ve been a victim of a scam don’t be embarrassed to report it, It can happen to anyone. If the scammer had access to your computer, it would be a good idea to take your computer to a computer tech as some scammers try to leave back doors so they can gain access to your computer without you knowing.

Why won't the Indian government do more to stop scam calls from India? Are the scammers really paying them to turn a blind eye? Click the video below to watch:

What should I do next?
Talk to your phone provider to see what privacy services and call-blocking services are available, although you may need to pay for some of these services.

HACKING the online SCAMMERS who tricked us! Click the video below to watch: