The Verge: “Hackers commandeer online accounts at industrial scale. Here’s how to restore and protect your access to Apple, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, TikTok, and Twitter. Nearly 2 out of 5 Americans say that hackers have taken over their social media accounts. And those numbers are likely to rise as more and more account information gets leaked in breaches of big corporations. “[Hackers are] taking those credentials and, in an automated fashion, they’re gonna bounce those up against every other account out there on the web,” says Lisa Plaggemier, executive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance. Even if you don’t reuse the exact same password on other accounts, hacker software can easily generate iterations until they get a hit.

(Chances are, you’ve been involved in multiple data breaches. To find out, visit the site have i been pwned?, enter your email address, and see how you’ve been affected.) Other times, people hand their logins to crooks by responding to scam emails saying, for instance, that your Facebook page has been scheduled for deletion and you must log in immediately (at the bogus link below) to appeal the action….The steps for regaining access to your account vary from online service to service—sometimes by a little and sometimes by a lot. But they follow a general pattern — escalating from easy password resets and proving your identity to (sometimes) getting help from actual humans. Unfortunately, if hackers have manipulated your account too much, such as changing your username, password, and contact info, you may not be able to recover your account…”