Signals that your phone may have been hacked.

6 Symptoms that your phone has been hacked

You don't know what it is with your smartphone,. Maybe it's little bit slow to respond,  You see apps you don't remember ever installing, or you see a call to your ex that you never made. Those may be the first signs that something isn't right with your phone. He could have been hacked.

If your phone suddenly gets very hot without you using it much, or it suddenly consumes a lot more data than it normally does, then it is important to do a small investigation. A hacked phone can have serious consequences in your daily life. Passwords can be stolen, but hackers can also use bank details with which they can, for example, plunder your account.

I'll give you 6 signals that your phone may have been hacked. 
I will also give you 6 steps to remove the hackers and the software they use from your phone.

6 symptoms that your phone has been hacked

1. Your phone is slow

2. Your phone gets hot and the battery drains quickly

This symptom actually fits well with the above, as installed malware can result in a phone getting very hot for no apparent reason. The malware then runs in the background and requires a lot of processing power or sends a lot of data. That in turn results in a battery that drains very quickly.

3. Unexplained apps or settings

You open your phone and suddenly there is an app that you have not installed, then that is a clear sign that there are other people with access to your smartphone. The same goes for settings that have changed.

4. Higher data usage than normal

If you see peaks in your data consumption and you cannot explain them, it may be that malware sends a lot of data. If you spend a lot of time on Wi-Fi, this is more difficult to discover since you will not receive messages from the provider about high data consumption.

5. Strange activity on your accounts

If you see login attempts or activities on, for example, your social media accounts, it may be that your phone has been hacked. Through this way, a hacker could gain access to your accounts. But that certainly doesn't have to be the case. Access to online accounts can be obtained in many ways. Change your passwords and keep an eye on whether the strange activities persist. If so, then a hack of your mobile is a possible cause.

6. You can no longer call and app, or there are calls and apps that you have not sent

If you suddenly can no longer call, it is possible that hackers have cloned your SIM card. As a result, they use the network under your name and you can no longer do this. This allows them to intercept phone calls and messages and, for example, gain access to online accounts that are protected with 2-factor authentication.

Hackers can also make phone calls and send apps via your phone. If you notice this kind of thing, it's almost certain that you have an uninvited guest on your device.

What types of hacks are there?

There are too many to mention, but we do selection from the wide range. Below are four most common:

Trojan: It refers to the story of the Trojan horse and works essentially the same. It delivers hostile software wrapped in an innocent thing. The malware that is installed in this way often collects sensitive data such as passwords, or credit card information. Symptoms of this are increased data usage, because these programs often use an internet connection to share data they collect with their source.

Keylogging: This is a form of malware that keeps track of what you type. It records every letter you type on the keyboard and sends it to its source. It is very difficult to find out whether this is the case with you, since the software consumes little data and also does not have a heavy impact on the speed of the phone. If you suddenly see strange login attempts or payments somewhere, then there may be a keylogger installed on your phone.

Crypto miners: This is software that uses the remaining processing power of your phone in the background to mine cryptos, as the name suggests. If your phone feels sluggish or gets hot while you're not using it, a crypto miner may be to blame.

Sim swap attack: With this attack, hackers steal the information from your SIM card and place it on their own SIM card. This allows them to steal your identity and gain access to your accounts.

What to do if your phone has been hacked

If you've discovered any of the above symptoms on your smartphone, it's time for action. I'll give you some steps you can go through that might solve the problem. If this does not work, then it is time for professional help.

Uninstall apps that you don't trust or haven't installed yourself. Also think of the apps that you have not downloaded via the regular app stores of Apple and Google. 

Do an antivirus scan. Choose from reliable sources such as McAfee, Norton or Kaspersky. If risks emerge from this, take the recommended actions.

This is a bit of a last resort: do a factory reset of your phone. After this, in most cases, you can restore a backup where there is a chance that your hack will not reinstall.

After all this, it is also good to check whether unlawful payments have been made with debit cards, accounts or credit cards. If this is the case, you should block it.

And this one may be for the sake of completeness, but it's still good to quote: change the passwords of your accounts.

Let people in your contact list know that your phone has been hacked and that they may also be at risk. Also, let them know not to click on any links that may have been sent to them recently. It may be that this happened without your knowledge.

What can you do to prevent a hack?

Prevention is better than cure, especially in this case. And prevention is easier than you think. You only have to stick to a few rules. Pay attention, because these rules are not 100 percent watertight, but they certainly reduce the chance of a hack.

Keeps your apps and operating system up to date. This ensures that you have the latest security updates and makes it more difficult for hackers to gain access to your phone.

Never connect to a freely accessible and/or unsecured Wi-Fi network. If you do this anyway, use a VPN to reduce the risks of a hack.

Don't use strange USB cables to charge your phone. Believe it or not, hackers can gain access to your mobile with a perfectly normal-looking USB cable that installs special software when plugged in.

Don't click on strange links. Hopefully we don't have to explain these anymore, do we?

Download your apps through the regular channels. If you have an iPhone, you have little choice, but if you have an Android, you can download apps from channels other than the Google Store. These have an increased risk of infection with malware because there is no control whatsoever. Unlike Apple, Google doesn't monitor the apps in its app store, so the risk of infected apps is always higher on Android phones than on iPhones.