What to Do if Your Account Gets Hacked

You wake up one day to find out that you can’t access your social media account. Your friends are receiving strange messages from you, or in case of a worst situation, you are seeing to which you didn’t author like from your bank account. In a worst case scenario, that is far too common in our tech driven world today. We are at the point where we get hacked, which is frustrating, stressful, and in some cases, even financial ruin. But the good news is that do exist steps you can take to get back in control and also to avoid it in the first place.

In this article, we will cover what you can do when your account has been hacked, how to get back in, and how to prevent it from happening again. Whether it is your email, social network, or online banking, we will take you through the recovery process.

Why Accounts Get Hacked

Before jumping into solutions, it is to know which elements cause accounts to be hacked in the first place. Hackers mostly after any of these:

• Personal Information: Hackers after your info your name, birthdate, phone number, and address to use for identity theft or to put on the dark web.
• Funds: Cash in hand or in fact financial service related email accounts are what some hackers go for. Also, we have reports of hackers demanding ransom for return of access.
• Access to Other Accounts: After that which accounts are broken into, the hackers will use it for which of your others. For example, they may use your email account to change the passwords on which other sites.

Hackers typically gain access through the use of weak passwords, phishing scams, stolen credentials from another site, or malware on your computer.

Here is what you do if you get hacked.

Step 1: Stay put and don’t panic.

Upon finding out that your account has been compromised, the first thing you do is to stay calm. Panic may come natural to you, but it will not help the situation. Take deep breaths and focus on what you can do to solve the issue at hand. Act quickly but still methodically, which is the best approach.

Step 2: Acknowledge the breach.

Strange activity on your account is not always the sign of a hacker sometimes. May be a glitch, or you may have logged in somewhere else. Don’t panic first and instead look for signs of hacking:

• Out of the blue login issues on your account.
• Passwords which were changed by someone else.
• Without your permission, posts, emails, or transactions were sent.
• Friends which report to you that they received odd messages from you.
• Login attempts from out of known traffic patterns.

If there are any of these warning signs, then it is ok to assume that your account has been compromised.

Step 3: Change Your Password Immediately.

If you can still access your account, the first step should be to change your password. Choose a strong new password which you haven’t used before. Do not include personal info like birthdays or names, which easy for hackers to guess.

An ideal password should consist of:

• Capital letters
• Lowercase letters
• Numbers
• Of special characters , , , etc. .

If you find that you can no longer access your account as a result of a hacker which in fact has changed your password, go to the “Forgot Password” option. Most sites will have you enter your email address or phone number for a password reset link.

If your account has been compromised, go to the next step.

Step 4: Secure your email account.

Most of your accounts have that tie in with your email, also it is a fact that hackers go after emails first, which is because from there they can access other accounts’ passwords. If you think your email has been compromised:.

• Change out your email password as soon as you can.
• Enable Two Factor Authentication (2FA) when you can. This adds an extra layer of security, which includes a verification code to your phone.
• Check your recovery info in your email hackers may change the recovery email address or phone number, which in turn will lock you out. Make sure to set these up properly.
• Check email filters that some hackers may have put in place forward of your emails to themselves. Remove any which look out of the ordinary.
• Log out of every account and device to kick out the hacker.

Step 5: Enable Two Factor Authentication (2FA).

If you are yet to set up Two Factor Authentication, we would recommend you do so now. Your login security will be greatly improved by adding a second step of identification to the process, usually entering a code from your email or a security app as well as your password.

Although you may have had your password discovered, the hacker still will not get into your account unless they also have the extra piece of information you are given. Also, all large scale web service providers today include 2FA, which is found in most email, social media, and online banking.

Step 6: Check for irregular activity.

After you get your account back, do check your recent activity:

• Look at recent login history: Did you see logins from new locations or devices?
• Review sent messages or posts: Delete any suspicious or out of place material which may have been posted while the hack was in progress.
• Check connected apps or third-party services: Sometimes, hackers will add in third party apps to your account which they can use to get in. Go through and revoke access for anything you don’t recognize.

In terms of your financial accounts, report any out of the ordinary action you see immediately. Go to your banking financial institution as soon as possible upon noting unusual transaction.

Step 7: Alert Your Friends and Contacts.

If your account was broken into and used to send out messages, emails, or posts to your friends and contacts, let them know. Also, it is important to do so because we see that which ever links or malware the hackers put out in your name, they get your friends to click on, which in turn compromises them.

A notice such as “I have had my account hacked, please do not click on any odd links or respond to strange messages from me” will which the spread of the hack.

Step 8: Scan Your Systems for Malware.

Sometimes it is the case that accounts get taken over because malware or spyware has infected your device. To see to it that your computer, phone, or tablet is not affected by this:.

• Run a complete virus and malware scan of all your access devices.
• Update your software, including apps, to fix security issues.
• Do away with files and unknown apps.

If you see any malware, remove it first before you log in again to prevent repeated hacking.

Step 9: Report on the Hack.

Internet based services have dedicated reports for hacked accounts. Reporting the issue helps the company to identify abnormal activity and may also put your account back in your control if it is locked out.

Here is a list of things you can do:

• Report which accounts have been hacked on social media and use the “Help” or “Report” features.
• Reach out to the customer service of your bank or email provider.
• Report to the police if you have had a case of identity theft, which includes your financial accounts being hacked in which you also lost money.

Taking this action also helps out by bringing to light which security issues are present and large scale attacks which may be going on.

Step 10: Improve all your passwords.

If you have an account that was hacked, there is a chance that others may be also especially if you reuse the same passwords, which by the way you shouldn’t. Use this as a chance to go in and change out the passwords on all of your important accounts, in particular:.

• Email
• Social media
• Financial accounts
• Shopping platforms
• Cloud storage services

Use a password manager for your passwords. They will put out strong, unique passwords for each account, which in turn makes it hard for hackers to get in.

Step 11: Check Your Accounts Often.

Unfortunately, what we see is that once you’ve been hacked, you aren’t out of the woods yet. Perpetrators may have obtained enough personal info from that which was lost in the breach to go after other accounts of yours. That is why we see the value in you paying closer attention to your accounts going forward.

• Check your email for password reset attempts.
• Enable login notifications, which will put you in the know when someone logs in from a new device or location.
• From time to time, go over your bank statements and online transactions for anything out of the ordinary.

Detect at the first signs of suspicious activity for easier prevention of further harm.

Step 12: Stay informed of online security issues.

In the field of online protection, one of the best tools at your disposal is information. Also, it is a fact that hackers are constantly coming up with new ways to get into accounts. Some of which are to include:

• Be wary of clicking on suspicious links and emails, even those that look like they are from your contacts.
• Passwords mustn’t be shared with anyone, not even your closest friends.
• Using separate passwords for each account so that if one is hacked, they all aren’t.

Take care of your online presence as you would of your physical things. Don’t leave your password weak or security out of date on your accounts, which is the same as you would not leave your home door unlocked.

Final Thoughts

Hacking may be a scary issue, but it has no reason to mark the end. What we are most concerned about is your response time, account security measures, and ways that you can prevent the issue before it happens again. Out to stay cool, choose strong passwords, enable Two Factor Authentication, and to watch out for on line threats, which in turn will help to secure your digital life.

The internet is a great resource, but as with any tool, it has its issues. You lock your car and home for security, do the same for your online accounts. With the right strategy, you can emerge from a hacking incident better and more secure than when it happened.

Stay safe out there, stay alert, and secure your accounts.