Signs that someone hacked your account
Hackers try to take over your accounts. Some might want to steal your personal information — like your usernames and passwords, bank account numbers, or Social Security number — to commit identity theft. Others might want to spread malware or scam others. So, what types of things might tip you off that someone hacked your account and changed your password?
- You can’t log in to your account.
- You get a notification about a change to your username or password— but you didn’t make that change.
- You get a notification that someone logged into your account from a device you don’t recognize or a location you’re not at.
- Your friends or family report getting emails or messages you didn’t send, sometimes with random links or fake pleas for help or money.
What to do first
- Acceda a esa cuenta y cambie su contraseña. Si es posible, cambia también tu nombre de usuario. Si usas la misma contraseña en otro sitio, cámbiala también.
- Is it a financial site, or is your credit card number stored? Check your account for any charges that you don’t recognize.
- Vea y verifique la actividad de la cuenta. En primer lugar, revise la actividad de su cuenta para confirmar cualquier cambio o cargo fraudulento. Tenga en cuenta que algunas transacciones legítimas pueden parecer fraudulentas si la empresa opera con un nombre diferente.
- Actualice su sistema y elimine el malware. Lo primero que debe hacer si su cuenta es pirateada es ejecutar un análisis antivirus completo. Esto significa omitir la configuración de "escaneo rápido" en favor de un escaneo profundo para identificar y eliminar no sólo todas las formas de malware (incluidos los troyanos y el software espía hasta los registradores de teclas que podrían estar rastreando sus pulsaciones incluso después de que se haya identificado el hackeo) y las aplicaciones potencialmente no deseadas. Es importante asegurarse de que está limpio antes de cambiar cualquier otra información sensible para evitar que se reinicie el ciclo. Además, configura tu software de seguridad, tu navegador de Internet y tu sistema operativo para que se actualicen automáticamente. Haga clic aquí para obtener una lista de software gratuito de análisis de seguridad en línea.
- Review Social Media Accounts. Look for changes in your social networking sites, and look for changes to the account since you last logged in. Check your social media accounts for messages the hacker posted or sent from your account, or for new friends you don’t recognize. Look at your personal details, review any third-party apps connected to your account, and check your security questions and answers and your backup email addresses and/or phone numbers. If you think your hacker had a chance to scan your security questions and backup accounts, try to change these on the compromised account and on any other account that relies on the same information. This will prevent the bad actor from using your personal details to breach other accounts in the future.
- Check your email settings to see if there are rules set up to forward emails. Delete any rules you didn’t set up, so your messages aren’t forwarded to someone else’s address.
- Check your sent folder for emails the hacker sent from your account. Look in your deleted folder for emails the hacker may have read then deleted.
How to get back into your hacked account
First, make sure your computer security software is up to date, then run a scan. If the scan identifies suspicious software, delete it, and restart your computer. Then, follow the provider’s account recovery instructions.