3 Ways to Keep Your Police Recruiting Social Media Accounts Safe!

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Well, guess who got hacked?  This guy right here! 😩

Yeah…fortunately, they didn’t get into any of my agency pages because of the safeguards I have in place, and I’ll teach you all about them and how to keep those hackers out of your agency pages too...keep reading! 👀

Hey everyone, it’s Tom Sye your Police Marketing FTO, and yep, you read right…I got hacked!  Ugh!  They got into my personal email and then my personal Facebook and made my life pretty trying for 72 hours straight as we battled between changing passwords back and forth over and over until I figured it out. 😡

It was actually a pretty intricate scheme and while I’m not quite sure how they got into my email, I’m assuming a data breach somewhere as I don’t really click on links or visit dangerous websites, but what they did was got into my email settings and created a rule that forwarded all messages from both my email provider and Facebook to their email account thereby bypassing any password changes I made because they would get the reset code sent directly to them. 🧠

After finding the rule and deleting it, they tried a few more times, but alas, no more messages were being forwarded to them and then finally went away. 😥

Now…during the ordeal, there were multiple times they tried to get into our agency Instagram account which would have been disastrous…but the safeguards I set up for my agency and stupidly not on my personal accounts held up and kept them out. 🔐

So…with all that being said, here are my three social media account safeguards that will keep the hackers out of your police recruiting social media pages too...

1.  Use your police recruiting government email

This should go without saying as if you are setting up a government page it should correspond with your government email…but a lot of agencies have alternate email addresses and recruiting websites that are linked to outside companies doing things for them or outside email providers like yahoo or google. 😳

While email providers do their best to keep your information safe, they get hacked a lot and entire email lists complete with usernames and passwords are leaked all the time. 🗒️

By using your government email, which, in most cases, requires you to update your password often, you ensure all of the protections that your agency’s IT department has set in place to keep hackers out…which gives you, another level of bonus protection and a pretty secure feeling there’s not going to be a breach. ☺️

2.  Use Two-Factor Authentication

 

Using Two-Factor Authentication seems like a major pain in the, well you know what, every time you want to log in from a new location…but that all changes the minute you get hacked, trust me! 💯

It’s actually super simple to set up and I highly recommend using a separate authenticator app like from Google or Microsoft as opposed to the ‘in platform’ authentication that say a Facebook provides.  During the hack of my personal Facebook, they actually went in and turned the ‘in platform’ authentication off, which is something they can’t do to authenticator apps that are stored only on my phone.  As a backup two-factor, use your telephone number to receive a text confirmation…more on that in a minute.  📲  

How it works is…you set up the two-factor authentication and every time you log in from a new location, the social media platform will ask you for a code number generated by your authenticator app.  1️⃣ 2️⃣ 3️⃣ 4️⃣

This number changes every thirty seconds and once you type it in, the platform logs you in seamlessly and securely.  In common terms, if you don’t have the number…you ain’t getting in…see ya, hackers!  👋 

3.  Use a separate phone number that no one knows

Many social media platforms now require a phone number to be attached to your account with the caveat that you can only use any particular phone number on one account meaning you can’t use your personal number for both your agency page and your personal page. 📱📱

For my agency pages, I have a city provided work phone that is only used for taking pictures and maintaining our social media pages while I’m on the go.  While obviously, it has a phone number, no one knows it…we don’t advertise it, and it doesn’t double as a recruiting hotline or anything like that. 🤐 

Why is that important?  Because once a hacker has your phone number, they’ll send you spoof texts and messages that look pretty legit…and if you mistakenly click on one…they’re into your accounts.  So…if you keep your number private and don’t use it for any calls, they never have a chance to learn it and you ensure those two-factor backup texts I just talked about, go to you and only you. 👍

Well, there you go!  My three social media account safeguards that will keep the hackers out of your police recruiting social media pages.  Make sure you get them set up if you haven’t already and keep your social media accounts safe! 💪

Now that you've gotten everything all secure...how about we start creating some content that will get people interested in your agency, shall we?!?! My Road to Better Recruiting online super course is open right now and will teach you the exact social media strategies I use to start attracting high-quality applicants to your agency again! 🧲👮‍♂️👮‍♀️

There's a big difference between being on social media and winning with social media! Check out the Road to Better Recruiting course page to see everything included!

Did you get a lot out of this newsletter?  Then please give it a like or share it with a friend at another agency so they can learn too.  They’ll be damn glad you did, and your old Police Marketing FTO here would appreciate it too. 🤝

Have more questions about police recruiting, marketing, or anything else you're struggling with? Don't hesitate to reach out...I’m always here to help. 🙏

Until next week my Police Marketing Squad, happy recruiting! 😃

Tom

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👋 I’m Tom Sye, your Police Marketing FTO. I founded ‘For Cops’ Training to teach Police Departments how to attract more qualified candidates through the same tried and tested methods I’ve used for the past ten years at my own department to keep up with turnover and stay ahead of vacancies.

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