Technology has been your best friend for quite some time now. But there are times when it does stab you in the back. One of the most famous examples is your phone being hacked. Many of us have experienced this unfortunate event in our lives.
If your phone all of a sudden shows pop-ups out of nowhere, any registered outgoing calls you didn’t even make in the first place, a battery that reduces at a fast pace, or the phone is showing an overall poor performance, there are high chances it has been hacked.
However, you must take charge of the situation and deal with it in the best way possible. You need to take some quick actions to reduce the damage and its aftereffects.
Here’s a list of things you should do in case your phone is hacked.
Uninstall Any Suspicious Apps
There are times when you will be scrolling through your iPhone or Android and notice an app that wasn’t there before.
That’s most probably a virus corrupting your phone and slowly chipping away at its data. When you find that your phone has been hacked, the first thing you should do is carry out a detailed search of your phone and instantly delete any suspicious apps you don’t remember downloading in the first place.
Reset Your Passwords
When a phone is hacked, its security has been breached, and the current password would no longer be effective. Therefore, once it comes to your attention that your phone has been hacked, don’t waste a second and change your passwords.
Sometimes, the hacker would have already changed your passwords to prevent you from accessing your data. In that case, there’s no need to panic. All you have to do is click on the “Forgot Password” option and have access to changing your password after reconfirming your identity.
Antivirus Software
Although antivirus software should have been on your phone from the start, it’s pretty much necessary and logical to download it after your phone has been hacked.
There are tons of malware preventative apps such as Avast Antivirus, AVG Antivirus, McAfee Antivirus, etc. These apps will first of all scan your phone and detect any malware that has been instilled in the phone by the hacker.
Moreover, in the future, when you download an app, these apps will make sure the installation isn’t harmful to your device in any way.
Wipe Your Phone
It’s heartbreaking to clear your phone of all the data. So, take the hard step and wipe your phone. Before doing all this, make sure your data has been backed-up to the cloud.
Contact Your Bank
One of the best things to do when your phone gets hacked is to contact all the institutions that have your data and financial information on hand. Call your bank and ask them about any unauthorized or suspicious activity.
Go through your credit statements make sure no unidentified purchases have been made on your account. If there has been some activity that hasn’t come to your attention, instantly change your accounts passwords, and make sure to choose a one that is strong and cannot be guessed easily.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Two Factor Authentication will allow you to protect those apps that require your password like your Gmail, Yahoo, LinkedIn, etc. When you set up 2FA, there will be a second layer of security baked into your typical login process.
You’ll receive a text or email code to your device to confirm that it is in fact you logging into your account.
Contact The FTC
If the matter gets out of hand and you’re pretty sure a reset or cleanup wouldn’t solve the problem, contact the FTC. Submit a complaint about identity theft, and they’ll help you restore your identity and eventually catch the hacker.