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Whilst the online world offers a wide range of benefits, tools, and everyday essentials, your accounts are at risk of being hacked every single day. This is why it’s so important to know the signs of being hacked, what to do if it happens, and how to prevent it from happening again. So, first things first, how can you find out if you’ve been hacked?

Common signs that your account has been hacked include:

  • Your password or email address has been changed.
  • Security settings have been changed.
  • Unauthorised transactions in your online banking account.
  • Your contacts have received messages from your account that you didn’t send.
  • Login notifications or attempted logins from unknown locations or at unusual times.

Read on to learn more on how to spot if you’ve been hacked and what to do if it happens. 

How Do I Know if I’ve Been Hacked?

You won’t always know that you’ve been hacked, but most of the time hacking is done with a purpose – to steal information, money, or to cause disruption. In these cases, it will most likely be obvious that you have been hacked. You might notice some of the following common signs:

  • Being unable to log into your account – the hacker may have changed your password or email address.
  • Changes to your security settings.
  • Messages or notifications sent from your account that you don’t recognise.
  • Login notifications or attempted logins from unknown locations or at unusual times.
  • Unauthorised money transfers or purchases that you didn’t make/authorise. 
  • If you have antivirus software, run a scan to detect possible malware or viruses that may have been installed without your knowledge.
  • Google “have I been pwned” to see if your data has been leaked online. You can also set up notifications to be made aware of breaches.

Learn more about this in our recent blog where we go into more detail about being hacked on social media – do you know what to look out for?

What to Do if You Think You’ve Been Hacked

It can be worrisome to think that you’ve been hacked, in fact Norton estimates that 2200 cyber attacks happen everyday. If you notice any of the above signs, or anything else that makes you suspicious, we recommend following the below steps.

  1. Go to the website of the affected account and search their help or support pages for advice. If you can’t find what you need on these pages, Google the issue, or contact their customer services. 
  2. If you noticed sent emails that you did not send, we recommend checking your filters and forwarding rules. Cyber criminals will often set up forwarding rules to receive copies of your emails. If you’re unsure how to check this, review the help pages on your provider’s website.
  3. Change your password for any account that has been hacked, as well as for any other account that uses the same password.
  4. Log out of your account on all devices. You can often do this from the settings menu and force log out of all devices.
  5. Setup 2-step verification (2SV). Many providers now allow you to have 2SV on your accounts. This provides you with an added layer of security and makes your account much harder to hack.
  6. Notify your contacts that you have been hacked and to treat any recent messages from you with suspicion.
  7. Check your statements and online shopping accounts. A hacked email address can often lead to further problems. Check your recent transactions for any unauthorised purchases or transfers. Contact your bank directly for further support if necessary.
  8. Contact Action Fraud to report cyber crime.

How to Recover a Hacked Account

It’s important to know that it isn’t always possible to recover a hacked account. So, if you have followed the above steps and still cannot recover your account, it might be time to take preventative measures and move on. But, if you still want to use the service, you can set up a new account using more secure measures.

Learn more about recovering hacked accounts with the NCSC.

How to Prevent Being Hacked

Now you know how to find out if you’ve been hacked, it’s important to know how to protect yourself. We cover a few tips above, but here’s a few more to help you stay safe online.

  1. Don’t use the same password twice. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again (and again!); make sure your passwords are unique – if a hacker gets into one account, they can so easily get into others that use the same password. 
  2. Use a password manager. It is strongly recommended not to use the same password twice as, once a hacker has your password, it would be easy to hack other accounts. But, how do you remember all the passwords? A legitimate password manager like LastPass is a really great way to keep track of everything, so you don’t have to remember them, yet your accounts remain secure.
  3. Update your tech. Has your laptop been asking you to update or restart for weeks? It’s best to go ahead and do it. Likewise for mobile updates and app updates. Often, companies fix security issues in their updates so it’s important to keep your tech up to date.
  4. Use and update antivirus software
  5. Be suspicious of dodgy websites. Be careful if you end up on unreliable-looking websites. Click away from the site without clicking on anything and be sure not to give them any personal information.
  6. Use 2SV where possible. 2SV provides an additional layer of security. Many websites and apps now support 2SV and we recommend using it wherever possible. 
  7. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. Be suspicious of anything that promises something a little bit too good to be true. At best, there’s likely to be a catch. At worst, it could be malicious.
  8. Think before you submit anything. Do you really need to submit your details? Is the company and website legitimate? Be extra cautious if they’re asking for financial information.

Stay up to date with NEBRC

For further guidance on protecting you and your business from hackers, contact [email protected]. You can also stay up to date with the ever-changing digital landscape and security threats, by signing up for our free core membership.

The NEBRC is a Police led non-profit organisation that seeks to educate, inform, and support businesses across the UK on how to protect their business online through good cyber security practices.