Facebook-owned WhatsApp, launched in 2009, has become the most used mobile messenger app in the world, with nearly three billion users. It’s often used for work these days, as well as for chatting with friends. As a result, getting hacked can cause significant problems for users, with attackers using their access to steal money and scam the user’s contact. And it can happen to anyone, through methods such as social engineering, web hacking, spyware and Forward Call. We look at the warning signs that your WhatsApp account is hacked, and how you can recover your account if it has.
Did Your WhatsApp Get Hacked?
WhatsApp users are generally alerted to the fact that their account has been hacked after one of a number of warning signs. Generally, this is strange activity, such as messages from unknown contacts, unread messages marked as read, or the arrival of unsolicited verification codes.
Often, you may be alerted to this unauthorised activity on your account by friends and family, who may have received fake messages from you, perhaps asking for money or personal information, or containing fraudulent links. In some cases, WhatsApp users discover that their profile details have been changed, perhaps with a new photo — this allows the attackers to impersonate someone else as part of a wider scam. You may also realise that further devices have been logged in to your account without your permission. It’s also a warning sign if you find that your phone is running slowly — this may mean that the hackers are running hidden applications.
What To Do If Your WhatsApp Is Hacked?
If you think that your WhatsApp account has been hacked, you’ll need to try and undo any damage caused, get your account back under your control and take steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Recovering a WhatsApp account is usually a very simple process — see “How Can You Recover Your WhatsApp Account?” below. But there’s a little more time and effort involved in clearing up any problems that may have been caused by the hack and doing a better job of protecting your account from future attacks. Here’s what you’ll need to do to make that happen.
Step 1: Delete Fake Messages
Once you’ve regained control of your WhatsApp account, the first step is to delete any messages that the hacker may have sent from your account. This should be very straightforward.
If your profile picture or other account information has been altered, then you should change back to the original version. You should also check whether the hacker has added any new contacts — if so, delete those too.
Step 2: Check For Unexpected Apps
The hackers may well have installed new apps on your phone in order to help them target new victims. Check through all the apps you have, and delete any that weren’t installed or approved by you.
Step 3: Check For Unauthorized Devices
WhatsApp accounts can be accessed on multiple linked devices, and you’ll need to make sure that you’ve booted the hacker out. You can remove any unauthorized devices by opening the app and going to Settings, where you’ll see a list of Linked Devices. If there are any that you don’t recognize, you can log them out of your account simply by tapping on them.
Step 4: Tell Your Friends
Your WhatsApp contact may well have been receiving messages purporting to be from you, but in fact sent by the hacker. These messages may ask for personal data, contain fraudulent links, or even ask them for their own WhatsApp verification codes under some or other pretext. You should alert anybody on your contacts list to what’s happened, and tell them to ignore any such messages they may have received.
Step 5: Secure Your Account For The Future
If you haven’t already set up two-step verification then this is the time to do it.
It’s a very speedy process — simply go to Settings, then Account, then Two step verification. You’ll be asked to set a PIN; and then you’re done. You may also choose to protect your data by only allowing your contacts to see your profile. To do this, go to Settings, Account, Privacy, Profile Photo and then select My contacts.
How Can You Recover Your WhatsApp Account?
Recovering a WhatsApp account is a very straightforward process. You simply need to sign into WhatsApp with your phone number and re-register — to do this, you’ll be sent a six-digit code via SMS or a phone call.
Once you’ve done this, because WhatsApp can only be registered with one phone number at a time, anybody using your account will automatically be logged out. You may also be asked to enter a two-step verification PIN. If you don’t know it, this means that the hacker may have enabled two-step verification themselves. In that case, there will be a short delay in getting your account back, as there’s a seven-day wait before you can sign in without the two-step verification PIN.
Bottom Line
Recovering a hacked WhatsApp account is a simpler process than is the case with many other apps. You’ll also need to alert your contact that they too may be vulnerable and take steps to avoid being hacked again, but this too is fairly straightforward.
