Signs of a hacked phone

Currently, many users do not know that their mobile phones have been hacked and exploited by cybercriminals. This can cause many unpredictable risks.

Below are the signs to recognize that your phone is being hacked.

Calls and messages from unknown numbers appear

If you see a list of calls or messages to unknown numbers, users should be vigilant because these could be foreign numbers used to steal telecommunications fees, with malware forcing your phone to contact you.

Accordingly, the phone bill will be taken by hackers. In this case, users should check their phone bill to see if there is any unusual deduction.

Unusual activity on the account linked to the phone

If hackers have access to a user's phone, they also have access to accounts on the phone such as social networks, email, banking...

Users can be identified based on account activity, such as resetting passwords, sending emails, marking emails unread...

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In this case, the user may be at risk of identity fraud, where the hacker may open new accounts or credit lines under the guise of stolen personal information.

Phone battery runs out quickly and lags

Smartphones infected with malware significantly reduce the lifespan of the phone and cause the battery to drain quickly. Such software uses up the phone's resources to scan the device and transmit information back to the hacker's server.

Besides, the lag is caused by the phone's resource overload or conflicts with other applications due to malware.

Users may also experience apps running in the background despite trying to close them, or the phone crashing or restarting multiple times.

Wifi/3G/4G data consumption is abnormal

Another sign of a hacked phone is that the Wifi and 3G/4G capacity is consumed a lot. Bandwidth is often congested, web surfing is often slow, jerky, and laggy.

Mysterious pop-up

While not all pop-ups mean the phone has been hacked, persistent pop-up warnings could indicate that the user's phone has been infected with adware, a form of malware that forces the device to view advertising websites.

Even if the pop-up isn't the result of a compromised phone, many of the links could be scams trying to trick users into entering sensitive information or downloading additional malware.

What to do when your phone is hacked?

If there is a suspicion that the phone has been hacked, the user needs to restore the phone to factory settings to ensure maximum safety.

For Android, AnonyViet recommends using an app that can scan for malware, provide a call blocker, firewall, VPN, and a PIN requirement feature whenever certain apps are used – preventing malware from opening sensitive apps like online banking like Kaspersky Mobile or Avast Mobile.

For iPhone, users should not use jailbreak (change system configuration) because this will increase the risk of being hacked.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cach-nhan-biet-dien-thoai-bi-hack-196240110114807385.htm