Facebook users are being suspended by hackers with fake Oculus accounts — it sounds crazy, but it's true

VR hacker
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Thousands of Facebook users are being wrongfully suspended after their accounts are compromised by hackers using a sneaky Oculus backdoor.

The hackers have been creating Meta accounts linked to the Oculus platform and then linking them to their victims accounts, bypassing two-factor authentication, and giving the hackers full access.

The issue has persisted since at least October 2022, and no official action has been taken by Meta or Oculus to address the issue, prompting frustrated users to take the issue into their own hands.

Thousands of users calling for action

According to members of the r/facebook Reddit community, thousands of Facebook users have lost access to their accounts due to automatic suspension as a result of Facebook and Instagram detecting unauthorized access.

Those who have attempted to investigate the issue have discovered a consistent IP address within their Facebook data, indicating that those responsible, be it an individual or a group, are located in Vietnam.

Due to the hackers ability to bypass the usual security measures associated with Facebook accounts, they are granted full access to their victims accounts to exploit as they please, often resulting in suspension without warning or ability to appeal.

As a result of thousands of this, the Meta support forums have been flooded by frustrated users who have called upon the media, data protection agencies, and government officials to prompt Meta and Oculus to fix the issues.

A call to action issued by content creator Dan Astin-Gregory on behalf of those affected, stated, “We urge Facebook and Meta to acknowledge this critical security breach and take immediate action to protect their users.

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Benedict Collins
Staff Writer (Security)

Benedict has been writing about security issues for close to 5 years, at first covering geopolitics and international relations while at the University of Buckingham. During this time he studied BA Politics with Journalism, for which he received a second-class honours (upper division). Benedict then continued his studies at a postgraduate level and achieved a distinction in MA Security, Intelligence and Diplomacy. Benedict transitioned his security interests towards cybersecurity upon joining TechRadar Pro as a Staff Writer, focussing on state-sponsored threat actors, malware, social engineering, and national security. Benedict is also an expert on B2B security products, including firewalls, antivirus, endpoint security, and password management.