What to Do If You’ve Been Hacked: 5 Steps

In this increasingly digital world, many people have online accounts that allow them to make doctor’s appointments, buy shopping staples, file tax returns and much more. Being able to do so many things online is great. However, as cybercrime becomes an increasingly large threat, knowing what to do if you’ve been hacked is essential. Follow these steps to resolve this unsettling problem as efficiently as possible. 

1. Recognize the Warning Signs

It is harder for hackers to get their desired results when those they target recognize that attacks have happened or are in progress. Here are some of the most common indicators of a potentially hacked system or application:

• Sudden inability to access the account
• Unexpected emails mentioning changed passwords
• Friends saying they received strange messages from you
• Unusual bank account transactions

Although those are some of the most frequently seen warning signs, some hackers go even further. Has your mouse cursor started moving by itself? That means someone may have installed a program that allows them to remotely access your computer. Some cybercriminals do that by posing as tech support personnel and insisting that your system has an urgent issue they must fix. 

If you suspect you’ve been hacked, a quick first step is to run malware scanners or similar tools on your computer. Those may be the easiest way to confirm there is something amiss.  From there, you could go through the process of removing the issue yourself or hiring professionals for the job.

2. Alert the Appropriate Professional Parties

A major part of knowing what to do if you’ve been hacked involves contacting the right people at the correct times. These specifics vary depending on the hack you suspect or know has happened.

Consider an instance where it seems someone has hacked an account that has no payment details associated with it — such as one for your local library’s free services. In that case, you could contact the library’s main number and ask for advice based on what you believe happened. 

However, the tricky reality is that you are not necessarily in the clear if it seems someone has hacked an account with no payment information attached to it. That’s because many people reuse their passwords. Perhaps you did the same with your library credentials and those associated with a shopping website. Then, the party that found your library details could connect the dots and access the account containing the payment information. 

Password reuse is a rampant problem, even within business environments. However, that is probably because most internet users desire convenience. Consider a 2024 study that found people working at small businesses have an average of 122 passwords, giving them lots of particulars to manage. 

Work backward and determine if you used the password to the hacked account anywhere else. Then, act accordingly by contacting the appropriate companies or other entities. 

3. Tell Your Friends You’ve Been Hacked

Social media account hacks are extremely common. Once hackers get into your account, they may post content or contact friends while posing as you. The information they distribute is often promotional, such as encouraging people to purchase a new cryptocurrency or get involved in a new business opportunity. 

As long as such content seems at least somewhat out of character for you, many of the people who see it in your feed will probably reach out to you through other means to see what has happened. Hearing from your confused friends could be the thing that tips you off to a hacked account. As soon as you know someone has taken over your account and started posting content through it, tell your friends to ignore everything happening on the profile. 

It is also important that the people you know do not accept new friend requests that seem to come from you. Social media hackers often create duplicate accounts and pull details such as your profile picture off of the real account to make new ones that seem legitimate. 

4. Recover the Hacked Accounts 

Companies have various processes for helping people recover compromised accounts. For example, Facebook has individuals answer some multiple-choice questions as a starting point. Sometimes, you’ll need to provide information that only you should know.

That’s why recovery often involves entering a single-use code sent to your phone. The hope is that, even if hackers have compromised your account, you’ll still have a physical gadget that can receive a code and help you prove your identity. 

Getting through this part of what to do if you’ve been hacked can be cumbersome and a little frustrating. Try to remember any steps that feel annoyingly complex are primarily there to keep the account’s security as tight as possible. 

Some recovery processes can take a while, but it is easier to keep track of what’s happening when you familiarize yourself with what you have done so far, and what’s next. Fortunately, many major companies that provide online accounts have detailed information about recovery steps. Do your best to follow all the requirements and keep checking your email or other places where you’ll receive updates. 

5. Become Proactive to Reduce the Chances of Future Hacks

The final step of knowing what to do if you’ve been hacked involves doing what you can to prevent it from happening again. Taking the best actions is much easier when there is information that indicates what likely caused the initial compromise. For example, did malware allow a person to access your account? Is it possible that a third party linked to you got hacked, resulting in your data getting stolen?

Pinpointing what probably happened — or did — is not always possible. But even in such cases, you should aim to do everything necessary to make it harder for hackers to get your details again. Another possibility is to severely limit what someone can do if they obtain them. 

One example is to use virtual card numbers when purchasing things online or through apps. Those allow you to buy things without revealing your primary card number. Some people decide to use a different card number for each thing they buy. Regardless of your exact strategy, virtual cards are an easy and accessible way to safeguard your payment information. 

Consider using a password manager, too. That way, you only need to remember a single master password that gives you access to all the others stored in a vault. Password managers are free or low-cost tools that can reduce your future hacking risks, especially if you have not always practiced good password hygiene. 

Refer to What to Do If You’ve Been Hacked

Since many people find it hard to think clearly after account hacks, consider keeping the above tips handy for easy reference if you need them or are supporting someone through the process. Then, you’ll have the best chance of doing the right things in the correct order.