Use Facebook? Scammers stole your phone number and email

Facebook has admitted that scammers stole the phone numbers and email addresses of almost all 2.2 billion users, deepening the privacy crisis engulfing the company.

With this data, fraudsters were able to search the site to find users’ personal info, such as their name and date of birth. Scammers included this data in their phone calls and emails to make them appear more genuine - for example, by using their victim’s first name, or wishing them happy birthday.

Before the Cambridge Analytica scandal Facebook encouraged people to add their phone number, claiming it would make it easier to connect with friends, and improve security. It had previously denied there was a privacy risk.

To find out whether Facebook has your phone number click the top-right arrow on your profile page, then Settings. In General Account Settings click Contact, then check whether your number is listed, alongside your email address (see screenshot). If it’s there, you can remove it by clicking Mobile on the left, then the blue Remove link.

Facebook has also started notifying the 87 million users - including 1 million in the UK - whose data was taken by Cambridge Analytica via a personality-quiz app called This Is Your Digital Life. They will see a warning message at the top of their news feed.

But it’s quicker to visit Facebook’s new help page (at www.snipca.com/ 27523), which will automatically check whether you were affected.

For instructions on deleting your Facebook account, read ‘Question of the Fortnight’ (page 11) in Issue 525. Have you lost trust in Facebook? Let us know: letters@ computeractive.co.uk