With nearly three billion users around the world, it’s hardly surprising that WhatsApp is a target for hackers. Owned by Facebook, the app is known for having a high level of security. But it’s still often possible for a criminal to get in, especially if a user has been careless. And, once an attacker has successfully hacked a WhatsApp account, it’s possible to cause chaos, especially by scamming their list of contacts. We look at how to spot the warning signs that your WhatsApp account has been hacked, and what you should do to put things right if it has.
Is WhatsApp Safe From Hackers?
WhatsApp is actually one of the more secure messaging apps, with end-to-end encryption as default, meaning that messages are scrambled in transit and can only be read by the sender and recipient.
Meanwhile, users have the option of using two-factor authentication, allowing messages to be accessed only after the recipient has entered a PIN. Other security features include the ability to control your privacy settings and block unwanted users, as well as automatic spam detection and proactive security alerts that ask the user to verify their identity if WhatsApp detects any suspicious or unauthorized attempts to take over your account. Nevertheless, hackers have a number of techniques for bypassing this security, mostly by exploiting mistakes by the user. These include techniques such as such as social engineering, web hacking, spyware and Forward Call.
How To Check If Your WhatsApp Has Been Hacked
If your WhatsApp account has been hacked, it may be the case that other accounts and apps are compromised too, if you’ve used your PIN as a password elsewhere. Hackers could have access to any linked devices, too.
There are a number of warning signs that your WhatsApp account may have been hacked. Probably the most common is strange activity on your account – messages from unknown contacts, unread messages marked as read or receiving unsolicited verification codes, for example. Other signs include realising that an unfamiliar device is logged into your account, changes to your profile information or even poor phone performance. Sometimes the first time you know your WhatsApp is compromised is a concerned message from a friend.
Sign 1: Strange Activity
If your WhatsApp account has been hacked, you may see suspicious activity on your account. No, you haven’t been messing around on the app in your sleep – it’s a sign that the hackers are getting busy on your behalf.
You may start receiving strange messages from people that you don’t recognize, or find that unread messages are marked as read, meaning that someone else has checked them before you. Your sent folder may have messages in it that didn’t come from you. Meanwhile, new numbers may show up on your contacts list – further targets for the hackers – and random chats may appear unexpectedly. One sinister sign that your WhatsApp’s been hacked is the appearance of unsolicited verification codes.
Sign 2: Unfamiliar Devices Logged In To Your Account
WhatsApp accounts can be accessed on multiple linked devices, and spotting an unknown one is a common sign that your account has been hacked.
What’s happening here is that the hacker is accessing your account via WhatsApp web on their own device, with the aim of accessing your contacts, chats and account information. You can check whether any unauthorized devices are using your account 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 recognise, you can log them out of your account simply by tapping on them.
Sign 3: Changed Profile Details
When logging in to WhatsApp, one extremely surreal discovery is that your bio has been changed or that your profile picture isn’t now actually of you.
This means that a hacker is trying to use your account to impersonate someone else as part of a scam. They will be contacting other WhatsApp users, and may change your details in order to get the response that they want from their target.
Sign 4: Poor Phone Performance
This sign that your WhatsApp account has been compromised is very far from obvious: poor performance from your phone.
Hackers may be running hidden applications running in the background, reducing the power the phone has for everything else. You may notice that your battery is draining much faster than usual, or find that it’s slowed down. It may crash, freeze, or feel hotter than usual.
Sign 5: Messages From Friends
Sometimes – and especially if you don’t use WhatsApp all that often – the alert that your account has been hacked comes as a tip-off from a friend, contact or family member.
They may be getting fake messages from you, asking for money or personal information – all part of the hacker’s efforts to broaden the net and compromise more accounts. A common technique is to try and lure your friends and family into sending them money under the pretext of an emergency. And if the scammers succeed in persuading your contacts to click on fraudulent links, they can potentially hack their WhatsApp accounts too, and start the whole process all over again.
What Should You Do If Your WhatsApp Account Is Hacked?
Recovering a WhatsApp account is a very simple process. You simply need to sign into WhatsApp with your phone number and re-register by entering a six-digit code that you’ll be sent via SMS or a phone call.
WhatsApp can only be registered with one phone number at a time, which means that’ once you’ve done this, 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, you’ll have to wait seven days before you can sign in without the two-step verification PIN.
How Can You Prevent Hackings On WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is generally a secure platform, but there are a number of things you can do to help keep your account safe in future. The first is to enable two-factor authentication.
It’s a good idea to turn on automatic updates, for example, to make sure you’re up-to-date with security fixes, and to install security software on your phone. Be careful what you share – you should never reveal your personal data or financial details – and ignore suspicious messages, especially any that ask you for your six-digit pin – one of the commonest ways hackers attack LinkedIn accounts.
Bottom Line
There are a number of signs that your WhatsApp account has been compromised, some more obvious than others. But while being hacked is never fun, it’s quite easy to put things right.
