# How to recover a hacked Facebook ad account > Secure your login, remove people you do not know, stop unknown spend and ask Meta for help. Steps for a hacked Facebook ad account, in the order to do them. - **Author**: Marxx - **Published**: 2026-11-15 - **Category**: Meta - **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-guides/how-to-recover-a-hacked-facebook-ad-account --- To recover a hacked Facebook ad account, secure the Facebook login that was hacked first, then clear out people and payment methods you do not know, pause any ads you did not make and ask Meta for help through its forms. Work in this order, because an attacker who still has your login can undo the rest. Steps follow Meta's help pages on [securing a hacked account](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/583427765324458), [unrecognised activity on an ad account](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/524424920973484) and [Security Center](https://www.facebook.com/business/help/216940652189296), checked 2026-10-20. ## Step by step 1. **Secure the profile.** Meta says a taken-over Page may mean your own profile, or another admin's, was hacked. Open facebook.com/hacked on a device you have used to log in before, and follow the steps. Then open **Where you're logged in** in your Settings and log out any device you do not recognise. Also secure the email account tied to the login. 2. **Check who has access.** In Meta Business Suite, open Settings, then **People**. Remove anyone you do not recognise. Look at your agency partners too. 3. **Check ad account roles.** In Ads Manager, open Account settings and look under **Ad account roles**. 4. **Pause what you did not make.** In Ads Manager, pause any campaign you did not create. Pausing stops new charges. You may still get a bill for spend that built up before the pause. 5. **Read the charges.** Open Billing & payments, then **Payment activity**, and click the Transaction ID of any charge you do not know. The receipt shows the amount, date, payment method and which ads it paid for. 6. **Remove unknown payment methods.** Use the **Payment methods** tab in Billing & payments. 7. **Ask Meta for help.** For a Page, follow Meta's [hacked Page guide](https://www.facebook.com/help/738660629556925), which links to a recovery form. Meta says it aims to reply by email within a day, but some reviews take longer. For the ad account, use the contact link on Meta's unrecognised activity page. 8. **Call your bank.** Ask your card issuer how to dispute charges you did not make. 9. **Lock it down.** In Security Center, require two-factor authentication for everyone in the portfolio, and keep more than one person with full control. ## Do not mistake Meta's own action for an attack Meta says it may act to protect an account it sees as at risk. That can mean removing admins, pausing your ads or changing your payment methods. If that is what you see, read [how to fix a restricted ad account](/guides/how-to-fix-a-restricted-ad-account). ## A worked example Say you spend about INR 2,000 a day. On Monday, Payment activity shows a INR 14,500 charge. The receipt names a campaign you never made. Write down the Transaction ID, the campaign name and the date. Pause the campaign. Then send those three things to Meta and your bank. Without them, both will ask you to find them anyway. ## Mistakes to avoid - Changing only the password and leaving unknown people in **People** - Deleting campaigns before you screenshot them. Screenshots are your proof - Sharing a password or login code with anyone who offers to get the account back. Use Meta's own forms - Never adding a second admin. One lost login then locks everyone out For setting up a portfolio that is harder to take over, see [how to set up a Meta business portfolio](/guides/how-to-set-up-a-meta-business-portfolio). ## FAQ ### Should I close the hacked ad account? Not as a first step. Meta says a closed ad account still counts toward your ad account limit and stays in the portfolio. Clean it up and secure it instead. ### Is my personal profile hacked too? Check. Meta says a hacked Page can mean your profile or another admin's profile was hacked. Secure the profile before anything else. ### How do I stop this happening again? Turn on two-factor authentication for everyone, keep at least two people with full control, and give agencies partner access instead of sharing logins. See [how to give an agency access](/guides/how-to-give-an-agency-access-to-your-meta-ad-account). --- - [More Meta articles](https://marxx.ai/library-guides/category/meta) - [All articles](https://marxx.ai/library-guides)