Signs Your Phone Was Hacked and What to Do About It

The myth that phones can't be hacked is just that, a myth. There is just simply not a device that can't be hacked. Android or IOS, nothing is safe anymore. Let's first talk about how a phone can get hacked. Then let's look at some signs that your phone might be hacked. And of course what to do if you think your phone was hacked  and how to protect your phone.

So how can your phone get hacked?

By physical possession. If someone gets possession of your phone that can quickly install spyware on your phone in minutes. Some of these programs were designed as legitimate programs for parents to monitor their children's phone activities or whereabouts, or employers to have access to company owned phones and monitor employee's locations and usage. Some programs are just designed to steal your information. Either way, if someone is installing them on your phone without your knowledge, this is malicious and they have access to everything on your phone, including your location at all times. 

Public Wi-Fi or public charging ports. Unprotected free Wi-Fi can expose your internet traffic to anyone that has access to that network. So if you are browsing, entering passwords, or buying online and someone is watching, they have all of that information. Hackers have also started installing malware in public charging ports that downloads your phone's data and information while you are charging. For more on this, check out our page: https://cloud-cover.me/hollis-blog/summer-travel-tips-for-cybersecurity-safety

SMS Phishing. Becoming a hacker's favorite tactic because it is easy, cheap and it works. You get a text with a link or an attachment, you click on it, you have malware. The hacker now has access to all of the contents on your phone. 

Signs that your phone has been hacked:

New apps show up on your phone that you didn't install yourself. Sometimes manufacturers will install apps with updates so before you panic google the app to see if this is a legitimate app with an update. If you don't find positive results, delete the app immediately. Chances are this was installed  by a hacker and contains malware. 

Apps aren't working like they used to, running slower or starting to glitch or shut down while using them. This could be a sign that malware or a virus is affecting legitimate apps.

Your battery starts draining very quickly, very suddenly. This can happen when there is an unknown, malicious app running on your phone- these apps can run in the background so you don't even have to start them but they still use your phone's battery.

Your phone starts getting hot for no reason. It's not in the sun, you don't have a ton of apps open, and you haven't been on a call for 2 hours. If your phone starts getting really warm when it shouldn't be, this could be another sign of malware making your phone work too hard and causing it to overheat.

Your phone reboots itself, switches off, dials numbers or starts apps on it's own. It's not a phone ghost, it's more likely a hacker.

You start seeing international calls in your call log you didn't make. There are hackers out there that use your phone to make international calls or sell the service to others so they can make international calls without paying for them.

If emails that you are sending from your phone are being blocked by spam filters, it could mean that someone took over your email and they sending the emails through an outside 3rd party server.

What do you do if you think your phone has been hacked? 

Install a mobile anti-malware software program such as Malware Bytes for IOS or Bitdefender for Android. 

Delete any apps that you have not installed or you don't recognize. If there are any apps in your data settings that are using a ton of data that you're not even using, delete them unless you are positive they are legitimate.

You can run a full factory reset on your phone if you really think you have been hacked. And of course. change all of your passwords. But not from your phone. Login to your accounts from your PC or laptop and change them from there.

How to protect your phone.

Never open a link that you can't see the full URL and if you're not sure that is legitimate, don't open it.

Don't use public Wi-Fi or public charging ports. If you have to use public Wi-Fi, use one that is password protected and ask the business owner for the password. Don't do anything that exposes sensitive data while using it. Turn off the setting that allows your phone to automatically connect to public Wi-Fi. If you must charge your phone in public, use an outlet and your own USB charger.

Don't use remember the password function on your phone. Use a password manager instead. 

And of course protect your phone with a strong passcode.