Losing access to your online accounts can be stressful, whether it’s your email, social media profiles, online shop accounts etc. However, there are a number of steps you can take if your account is hacked.
How to tell if you have been hacked
There are a number of signs to look out for to see if there has been unauthorised activity on your accounts. These signs include:
- Not being able to log into your accounts.
- Changes to your security settings.
- Messages sent from your account that you don’t recognise or remember sending.
- Attempted logins or logins from random locations or strange times.
- Unauthorised purchases from your accounts.
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to recover your online account. In these cases you will need to create a new account and inform your contacts of your new details and update your other accounts with the new details such as your bank.
Steps to take if your account has been hacked
Contact your account provider: Use the providers help/support pages to help you try to recover your account. Email & Social Media Providers help/support pages are:
Email:
Outlook: How to recover a hacked or compromised Microsoft account
Gmail: Secure a hacked or compromised Google Account - Google Account Help
Social Media:
Instagram: My Instagram was hacked | Instagram Support
X: What to do if your account has been compromised | X Help
LinkedIn: Verify your identity to recover account access
Check your email account: Check your settings and rules. Cyber criminals can set up rules in your account which could allow them to automatically receive copies of all the emails you receive. This would allow them to reset your passwords on other accounts.
Change your passwords: If you think your account has been hacked change your password for that account if you still have access. You should also change the password of any other accounts that use the same password. Cyber criminals know that people will use the same password for multiple accounts so will use your ‘hacked’ password on other accounts to see if they can gain access. To help reduce this risk follow our password guidance.
Force logout on all devices, apps and accounts: Once you logout of all your accounts anyone trying to access them will be asked to provide the new password.
Enable 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on all accounts: Enabling 2FA on all your accounts & devices is an easy and free step to take. 2FA works by sending a pin or code to either your phone via SMS or to a nominated email account. Once you receive the code you will have to enter this to prove that it is you who is trying to access the account. Having 2FA in place means that even though cyber criminals know your password they won’t be able to access your accounts as they will not have access to the pin/code.
Update Devices: Ensure all your devices and apps are kept up to date with their software. You can enable automatic updates in settings. Updates include protections against viruses and is a very important step to take to prevent your accounts from being hacked.
Inform your contacts that you have been hacked: Let your contacts know that you have been hacked and to not engage with messages from your account. This will help them avoid being hacked themselves.
Check your bank and online shopping accounts: Check these to ensure that there are no unauthorised payments or transactions on your account.
Contact Action Fraud: If you have lost money, inform your bank of the fraudulent transaction and report it to Action Fraud: Reporting fraud and cyber crime | Action Fraud