What to do if your phone has been hacked?

Last Updated on 4 months by Touhid

Computer hacking is pretty common, but phone hacking isn’t, and to your surprise, it is possible to hack your phone, especially Android phones. In this post, we will provide the best tips on what to do if your phone has been hacked by hackers.

If your phone has been hacked, you must look for any strange apps you haven’t installed or any apps you have installed from third-party sites. You will also need to scan your phone for any malware.

These are just two steps you need to take and there are many more. So, keep on reading to know about phone hacking.

What is Phone Hacking?

Just like computer or network hacking, phone hacking works in a similar way; it is a way for hackers to get access to your phone and steal all confidential data or keep track of your device.

It doesn’t matter whether you use an Android, iPhone, or any other operating system; any smartphone is vulnerable to hacking. However, the iPhone’s security system makes it a bit more difficult to hack than Android or other operating systems.

Phone hacking can take many forms, from sophisticated security lapses to spying on unprotected internet connections. To obtain illegal access to a phone, hackers will either take advantage of security system flaws or employ a variety of techniques.

In addition, your phone can get physically stolen, and hacking techniques like brute force can be used to illegally access it.

What Are The Common Symptoms Of Phone Hacking?

You might notice your phone is acting strangely or you feel like something isn’t right with your device. There’s a fair chance your phone has been hacked, and if this is the case, how do you understand it? You need to look at a few symptoms that will make it obvious that your phone has been hacked.

Increased data usage

One of the easiest ways to check if your phone has been hacked is by checking up on data usage. Usually, your phone can use more data when apps are being updated, videos are streaming at high resolution, and more.

But if all these activities stay normal as usual and your data usage has increased, then there’s a high chance your phone has been hacked.

Sudden pop-ups

Inappropriate pop-ups appearing on your phone while surfing might indicate that your phone has been exploited. It could prove that adware, a harmful program that hackers use to make money by showing advertisements on users’ phones without their permission, has infected your phone.

Phone slowing down or lagging

Another common symptom of your phone being hacked is your phone slowing down. A compromised phone may be using its processing power to run suspicious apps developed by hackers. As a result, malicious software that runs in the background causes a hacked phone to often slow, freeze, or crash.

Phone rapidly loses charge

As your phone gets older, it’s common for the battery to lose charge earlier than before. But, if your phone suddenly starts to lose charge rapidly, there’s a high chance your phone has been hacked.

This is due to the fact that hazardous code, which frequently uses a lot of power, is occasionally used by malware and counterfeit apps.

Weird apps and messages and calls

If you notice your phone has any weird app that you haven’t installed yourself, then this could mean someone else has access to your phone and has installed this app.

Furthermore, if your text messaging app is overflowing with odd texts and your outgoing call history is full of calls you don’t recall making, these could be signs of hacking.

Unusual activities in online accounts

Since all of us use lots of online accounts like social media, banking, and more on our smartphones, any unusual activities in them should be taken seriously.

Account information can be stolen via phone spyware and sent to malicious parties. Keep an eye out for strange transactions on your bank statements.

Look into purchases you did not make if you see them. Additionally, keep an eye out for strange login sites, password resets, or new account verifications in your social media and email accounts since these might be signs of unwanted access.

What To Do If Your Phone Has Been Hacked?

What to do if your phone has been hacked? Unfortunately, your phone has been hacked, and you feel all the weird activities on your phone. Don’t panic; we can still fix your phone and get it back to normal; just keep reading below!

Look for any weird apps

This is the first step if someone has hacked into your phone. The first thing you wanna check is if there are any weird apps on your phone that you haven’t installed yourself. If you see any apps that seem strange, simply uninstall them.

Also, check what data this app can access and, if needed, change the passwords and other private information.

Sometimes, hackers install background apps, so even though you won’t see any icons on the menu, apps will run. The best way to check this is to look for any strange icon at the top of your smartphone.

If you notice these icons, go to settings, check all the apps, and uninstall any strange-looking apps from your phone.

Scan for malware

Like antivirus software for computers, antivirus applications are available for mobile phones. These apps scan your phone for malware, virus and provide a protective layer, preventing future hacking attempts.

Secure all of your accounts.

What to do if someone has hacked into your phone? If you suspect your phone has been hacked, turn off the WiFi or internet connection and take another secure device from that device. Change all the passwords for your accounts.

You shouldn’t use the compromised devices as hackers can install spyware, so as soon as you change passwords, they can access the newer password as well.

Once your passwords are secured, enable MFA or multi-factor authentication, as this can add an extra protection layer over the password, which makes it difficult for hackers to hack into your device and accounts.

Report to your bank

If you use mobile banking and have your credit/debit card credentials stored on your phone, then during hacking, you must notify the specified authority.

Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank or other financial institution. Quick alerts help safeguard your financial assets and stop more fraudulent activity. They can also freeze the impacted accounts in order to stop further illegal transactions until the problem is fixed.

Factory reset

This is the last resort for you to fix your hacked phone. If you have already tried the above fixes but cannot fix the issue, then factory reset is the way to go.

All smartphones come with a factory reset option that deletes all the phone’s data. So, your phone will become like it came out of the factory, like a new phone.

Thus, before doing a factory reset on your phone, back up all of your important files and documents. The factory reset option can be found inside the settings.

After completing the factory reset of your phone, you have to install your required mobile apps from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. You will restore your data, files, and photos from a backup location.

So, the next step is to install antivirus software to scan all your installed apps, data, files, and documents to check for viruses and malware. Anti-malware software helps to detect and remove malware, viruses, and cyber threats.

Now, we can say that you should always use antivirus software, whether your phone has been hacked or not.

Here is the list of antivirus software for Android phones:

• Avast Mobile Security
• Bitdefender Antivirus
• AVG Antivirus
• McAfee Mobile Security
• Kaspersky Mobile Antivirus
• Sophos Mobile Security
• Norton 360
• ESET Mobile Security
• Malware bytes

Common Techniques For Phone Hacking

Knowing about the common phishing techniques is important to protect yourself from phone hacking. Knowing about these techniques beforehand can help you become careful.

Phishing

Phishing is a type of cyber-attack and the most common way to hack into phones, and most of the phone hacking is done through it. Scammers use customer curiosity or fear to lure them into disclosing sensitive information.

This is accomplished by sending URLs in shady emails or texts. Hackers get direct access to your device when you click on these links.

Using tracking software

If someone can access your phone physically, then they can install a tracking app on your phone. Additionally, these apps are sometimes installed directly on your phone without your knowing.

With the use of GPS, phone records, texts, photos, internet history, and other data, these applications can follow you wherever you go. This clever spyware can be disguised as harmless programs.

Through Network spoofing

Hackers employ a method called IP spoofing to obtain unauthorized access to phones. To obtain device information by intercepting data carried over unprotected connections, attackers create fictitious Wi-Fi networks or alter network settings.

Through Brute Force

Brute force attacks are uncommon for phone hacking, but hackers can still use this technique. In this technique, they try to guess your passwords through various software.

So, if hackers can get your device, even if it is locked, they can try to unlock it and steal all your confidential credentials.

Expert Tips To Prevent Future Phone Hacking

These expert tips below are designed to help you prevent any future hacking attempts on your phone. So, make sure to read them carefully in order protect your phone from being hacking.

• Always use strong and unique passwords in all of your accounts logged in on your phone.
• Implement multi-factor authentication to add an extra protective layer on your phone.
• Never install apps from third-party sites; only install apps from official stores like Google Play Store or iOS App Store.
• Do not click on links from untrusted messages or emails.
• Avoid giving your phones to any strangers, and never share your passwords with anyone.
• Make sure not to connect to public open WiFi networks and use VPN in such places.

FAQs

You can be in serious trouble if your phone has been hacked, so if you still have some questions on what to do if your phone has been hacked. So, keep reading our FAQs below to clear up all your confusion.

Is it common for iPhones to get hacked?

iPhones are known for having strong security features, which makes them less vulnerable to broad hacking than other platforms. Hackers find it extremely difficult to access your iPhone due to the closed environment of Apple’s hardware and software, frequent security upgrades, rigorous App Store verification procedures, and integrated hardware protection features.

Is it possible to block hackers?

Yes, you can block a potential hacker on your phone, but it cannot be done directly, and you will need help from a third-party antivirus app. These apps scan your phone for any potential malware and provide a protective layer to find and detect any vulnerabilities.

After a phone hack, is it safe to use other devices or public Wi-Fi?

Use precaution when using public Wi-Fi and other devices after a phone hack. Verify whether the hacker used your phone to access any other accounts. Keep an eye out for anything odd about them and report it. utilizing public Wi-Fi might be problematic; for additional protection, think about utilizing a VPN.

Final Words

If you suspect your phone has been hacked, then there is no need to panic; you can fix this by following the above guide. Factory reset is the last option in case nothing else works.

Also, if your phone has been hacked, change all the passwords at the instance and use a stronger password. I hope the article on what to do if your phone has been hacked will be helpful to recover your data and phone.