Hearing that someone’s account was hacked is not news these days. There seems to be an increase in the number of hacking incidents. Since such occurrences are becoming common, it is natural to worry about your social media accounts being hacked.
Being one of the most used apps, WhatsApp accounts and chats have high chances of getting hacked. If WhatsApp is not working or you find that WhatsApp is specifically not working on iPhone, it can wreak havoc as many of us are dependent on it.
So back on topic, if you are also wondering if someone has hacked into your WhatsApp account then don’t worry as we have covered it. In this article, we will discuss how to know if someone has hacked your WhatsApp account and the possible methods for hacker to hack your WhatsApp account. We’ll also explain how you can keep your account secure. So, without wasting another minute, let’s get started!
How to know if someone is hacking your WhatsApp account or chat?
Although there is a certain limit in which the hacker can hack your WhatsApp account, it is not known how experienced a hacker can be. Despite a limit to being able to hack someone’s WhatsApp account, there is no doubt how harmful hacking is.
The hacker can go through your sensitive data (which, even as I write about this, can be stressful) and also gain access to your personal chats. You don’t want to imagine the hacker misusing the data. So now to the main question: how can you tell if someone has hacked into your account or is trying to do so? Let’s find out.
- Check your WhatsApp activity – If something seems unusual to you, like your login activity from a device you don’t recognize, that’s enough of a red flag to go ahead and look at it.
- Pay attention to new and random messages: It often happens that we receive messages from unknown numbers that turn out to be misunderstandings or our long-lost friends. However, if you are constantly receiving these types of messages, then it may be a hacker trying to access your WhatsApp account by interacting with you.
- Check your contact list – there are thousands of numbers being changed and then passed on to other new customers every day. And if you had a number saved that no longer belongs to the same person and you are receiving messages from them, it can be problematic.
- Check your linked devices in WhatsApp – If you have your WhatsApp account logged in on multiple devices, but there is an unknown device linked to it, it may be the hacker.
- Search for newly added friends – We meet people and connect with them instantly. So instant that we ended up sharing our numbers. However, the same people can turn out to be a hacker. The hacker can also gain access to your account by being added to your contact list.
So these were the possible ways through which a hacker can hack your WhatsApp account. Now, let us see what are the methods that can lead to the result of WhatsApp account being hacked.
What are the possible methods for someone to hack my WhatsApp account?
There are numerous ways that a hacker uses to hack into people’s accounts. Unfortunately, new forms of hacking and scams are emerging every day, which is dangerous. Just tap a message to open it and boom! You can no longer access your own account. It sucks, right?
But how did the hacker do it? Where did you leave the loose ends? Let’s see what could have happened.
- Using Social Media – We all love to be immersed in the world of social media all day long, right? But it can make things troublesome for us. Nefarious individuals can take advantage of it and break into our accounts by hacking.
- Remote Code Execution via GIF – In 2019, an Awakened security researcher discovered a vulnerability. It was about how hackers can take control of WhatsApp using a GIF image. A hacker can take advantage of the user when he visits her photos to share a media file. Even though Facebook later fixed the issue after Awakened reported it, hackers are still on the prowl to find similar ways.
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To avoid this error, make sure WhatsApp is updated to version 2.19.244 or higher.
- Using WhatsApp Clone on another device: A hacker will try to break into your WhatsApp account by installing a WhatsApp clone that looks pretty identical to the original app. Users are sent a link to download a certain app, and once they do so, the app also starts collecting their WhatsApp and device data.
- Pegasus Attack: The Pegasus technique allows hackers to gain access to their victims’ device by making a WhatsApp voice call to them. And even if the call is not answered by the victim, it can still succeed without the victim being aware of the placed malware.
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- Using third-party apps on your device: There are apps that can easily access your WhatsApp account and steal your personal information. All the hacker has to do is buy the app, install it, and turn it on on the target phone. They may have access to private WhatsApp data such as messages, contacts, and status updates. However, we strongly advise against anyone doing this!
- Media Files Attack: In this attack, media sent and received by users, such as movies and images from the device’s external storage, are misused. Start by swapping the original item for a fake one. In this way, the hacker changes the received item to a fake one, and once it is downloaded, your device and data are left in the hacker’s hands.
- Using WhatsApp Web – As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, if you ever encountered an unusual login with an unrecognizable device, then your little mistake may have led you there. If you used WhatsApp Web on a friend’s device and didn’t log out, they may misuse your data. They can click “keep me signed in” and even after exiting the browser, their account will remain signed in across their devices, with unfavorable consequences.
Now that we know what and how a hacker can do to access your WhatsApp account and hack it, let’s see the steps you can take to recover the account.
Steps to recover a hacked WhatsApp account
To be ready and prepared for any hacking incident, you need to make sure that you enable all the security features that WhatsApp provides you with. Fortunately, there is a way to protect and recover your hacked WhatsApp account. No need to worry as we have given you some pretty easy steps with the help of which you can easily recover your hacked WhatsApp account.
- Open WhatsApp and tap Settings at the bottom right.
- Then select Paired devices from the options.
- Touch the device you want to sign out of.
- After that, a popup will appear, tap sign out.
If deleting WhatsApp Web did not work for you and you are sure that your WhatsApp is hacked, it may be important for you to deactivate your WhatsApp account. However, before proceeding with the deactivation, you should contact your known contacts and inform them that your account has been hacked. Now let’s start with the steps for the process:
- Open the email app from your phone.
- Send the message to the email address [email protected] and enter the following text in the body of the email: “Lost/Stolen: Please deactivate my account.”
- Be sure to include your phone number along with the country and area code.
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After the deactivation of your WhatsApp account, you will have a time limit of 30 days to reactivate it if you can. All your account data will be permanently deleted after the time period is complete.
It is possible that instead of a hacker, an unsecured application has accessed your WhatsApp, so there will be no need to deactivate your account or even log out of the linked devices.
In case you use third-party apps, they might contain viruses and bugs that can corrupt your WhatsApp, making you think that you have been hacked.
Therefore, in scenarios like these, you should perform a system restore. The steps to follow for the factory reset procedure are as follows:
| Solution Brief: Settings < Backup & reset < Factory data reset < Reset phone < Wipe data |
Now, with the help of the above methods, your WhatsApp should work normally without you wondering if it has been hacked or not.
Ways to secure a WhatsApp account and its chats
Despite the fact that WhatsApp claims to have its settings and chats encrypted so that there are no third-party interruptions to chat, images, audio, and all user data. There are still some loose ends in security and therefore hackers can use it to access people’s accounts. They may also end up misusing people’s information, which can lead to bad circumstances and consequences. One of the most useful ways for WhatsApp security is to enable two-factor authentication. Let’s see what are the steps for the procedure:
- Open WhatsApp and tap Settings.
- Go to Two-Step Verification.
- Enter a secure 6-digit PIN of your choice.
- Then a page will appear confirming “Enabling 2-Step Verification”.
- You can also enter the recovery email address or change your PIN.
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You can tap Disable if you no longer want the 2-Step Verification option. If you want to change your PIN, touch Change PIN and select Change email address if you change your recovery email address.
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Categories: Technology
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
