JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As the holiday rush begins, many people are trying to dodge scams and hackers.
The Channel 4 newsroom has received a lot of calls about social media hacking, specifically on Facebook. But there are some ways you can tighten security and prevent others from taking control of your social media pages.
"I'm hacked on messenger, those money requests are phony," is what 77-year-old Bill Muller posted to his page after his Facebook friends and family started receiving new friend requests and messages from his account, asking for money.
Muller said a message sent to his niece claiming it was urgent that she send an iTunes card was a red flag.
"I have about 270 (people) on my Messenger and all of a sudden I gained about another 120," Muller said.
Fortunately, most of his family knew Muller wasn’t sending the messages. But hackers taking over Facebook accounts appear to be a growing problem.
"All the other ones were about some government retirement fund for postal workers," Muller said. "I got a feeling it's the same guy but I have no idea how to track him down."
Web experts say it's nearly impossible to track hackers around the world.
You can do your own investigation to see if anyone's been messing with your account:
On your Facebook page, click the arrow on the top right corner of the screen, click "Settings" and then click "Security and Login." It lists all devices and locations where your account is logged in.
If there is something you don't recognize, chances are you might have been hacked.
But you can log them out by clicking on the three vertical dots and selecting "Not you?"
If you click "Secure Account," Facebook will run a diagnostic on your account and prompt you on ways you can better secure your account and information.
It's also a good idea to change your password or use a two-factor authentication for logging in. Taking those extra steps may help protect your account and information.
Web experts say it's important to be vigilant during the holidays and keep a close eye on your online accounts.