Searching for “spy on Facebook, Zalo messages” returns over 1.2 million results in just 0.26 seconds. Recently, social media has been flooded with groups and ads offering services to hack messages on Facebook and Zalo. But what’s the real story behind these services?
Looking into some ads offering to spy on Facebook and Zalo messages, prices range from 3 to 15 million VND depending on the service type, like tracking, location, or message spying.
Most of these services advertise with similar claims: “We help spy on Zalo, Facebook messages, recover accounts, pay only after service is done, no upfront deposit.” But when contacted directly, they ask for 500,000 to 1 million VND upfront before confirming the order.
Cybersecurity expert Ngo Tuan Anh explains that once victims pay upfront, the scammers often block their Facebook and Zalo accounts immediately. Usually, victims don’t report the scam because their original intent was to spy on messages, which is unethical, so they just accept the loss.
In rare cases where messages are actually hacked, it’s usually because the victim carelessly entered their login info on fake phishing links sent by scammers. Then the scammers steal all their data and hand it over to whoever paid for the spying.
“You can’t spy on messages or track a Facebook or Zalo account if the owner still controls their account. All these ads are scams designed to steal deposits. Sometimes scammers use fake accounts to mass report a profile, causing Facebook to lock it. Then they claim they ‘shut down’ the account,” Ngo Tuan Anh said.
Ngo Tuan Anh also warns that clicking on suspicious links and entering account info has been a common way to lose accounts for years, yet people still fall for it.
“Some lucky victims recover their accounts by acting fast, but personal info shared on the platform can still be stolen. So users need to be responsible for protecting their accounts. Use two-factor authentication when logging in,” he recommends.
Also, avoid logging into your accounts on unfamiliar devices, don’t save passwords automatically, and regularly check your activity log for any unusual actions.
Never publicly share your phone number, email, or ID photos used to register Facebook or Zalo on your profile or anywhere else. Be cautious with new Facebook trends that ask you to click links or use untrusted apps.
When using internet cafes or logging into Facebook and Zalo on unknown devices, it’s best to use incognito mode or guest accounts on browsers and always log out after use./.
