Making calls, sending emails, buying tickets, taking photos, creating reminders with personal information, paying bills and checking bank balances are just some of the activities we do with our phones. This is why smartphone security is vital.
How likely is it that cybercriminals can gain access to your phone? How do you know if your phone has been hacked? In this article, we’ll cover what signs to look out for if you suspect your iPhone or Android smartphone has been hacked, and what actions you should take in such a situation.
The story of celebrity Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s fiancée, having her phone hacked and semi-nude photos of her published online has blown up the internet. And this case is one of millions, the number of victims and all cases we do not even guess.
Is it Possible to Hack an iPhone or Android Phone?
Unfortunately, anyone’s smartphone is potentially vulnerable to hacking. It doesn’t matter if you’re using an Android phone or an iPhone; it can happen to any smartphone.
The information on your device can be very attractive to both attackers and people you know. There are many reasons why someone would want to hack into your smartphone. The goal could be to gain access to your photos and personal data, read text messages, steal money, and so on.
How to Know if Your Phone Has Been Hacked?
Users should always keep in mind that their smartphone can be easily hacked. For example, if you download a malware app, click on a fraudulent link, or use unsecured public Wi-Fi, your phone will be hacked in seconds.
Here are five key signs to look out for:
1. Increase in the amount of data used
An increase in data usage can have various reasons such as downloading high quality images, automatic app updates or faster network speeds. If nothing has changed on your smartphone but your data usage has increased dramatically, there is a chance that your phone has been hacked.
To check how much data has been used by your iPhone, go to Settings > Mobile Data.
If you have an Android phone, open Settings and select Connections> Data usage.
Check for any unusual spikes in data usage. If you notice that some unknown app has spent most of your paid limit, you may have detected a problem.
In this case, you should uninstall the app in question. (You’ll also need to take additional steps if the damage has already been done, a point we’ll come back to later.)
2. Strange behavior
When infected with a virus, smartphones often begin to exhibit strange behavior. Most users use their phones quite often and quickly notice the unusual behavior of the device. However, many people ignore such signs.
For example, an infected phone may automatically open apps when you’re not even doing anything, run very slowly, or restart for no reason. If you notice something like this, chances are that your device has malware running in the background.
3. Poor performance
If your phone takes a long time to load apps, overheats, or your device’s battery drains very quickly, it could be a sign that your smartphone has been hacked.
Check the battery usage menu on your device to see if there is an app with an unusual name on your device that is draining your battery to zero. To do this on your Android smartphone, you need to look at Settings > Battery > Battery Usage.
If you are using an iPhone, you will find this information under Settings > Battery.
4. Unauthorized credit card purchases
Keep a close eye on your credit or debit card statements. If you notice strange purchases you didn’t make, there’s definitely something going on. Of course, your smartphone may have nothing to do with what happened if the bank card data got to the fraudsters from another source.
To prevent this from happening, always review a site carefully before making a purchase and entering your credit card information, including checking its SSL certificate, making sure it leads to a URL that begins with “HTTPS “. If a site you visit seems suspicious because of the many strange pop-ups and ads, never disclose personal or financial information when using it.
5. Suspicious text messages
Your smartphone sending strange messages to random numbers is a clear sign that you have been hacked. Unauthorized activity of any kind in this area would be a serious red flag.
Look for any questionable apps that have access to your messages. If you notice this behavior, you should immediately revoke access and remove the app. To find out which app is causing this problem on your iPhone, go to Settings > Privacy.
On Android, open Settings and go to Privacy > Permission manager.
What to Do if Your Phone Has Been Hacked:
“My phone has been hacked! How do I fix it?” So, you have determined that there is malware lurking on your smartphone. Now you need to know how to remove the malware from your iPhone or Android device. Here’s what you should do in such a case.
First, find all the apps that you don’t remember downloading. If you’re using an iPhone, go to Settings and scroll down to see all the apps on your device. Do this until you get to the very bottom, just in case the app is hiding in another folder.
If your phone is on Android, go to Settings > Apps > App Manager. Carefully review the list of apps on your device. If you see a suspicious app, tap it and select Uninstall.
You should also install an antivirus on your device. Google Play has many great options for Android users, such as Sophos Intercept X. This app is completely free and offers many useful features such as app malware scanning, web filtering, link checking, Wi-Fi security, and more.
Apple offers solid protection, however, we recommend taking extra security measures.
After removing any suspicious apps, use your security suite to scan your entire device for any remaining malware.
Additionally, there is another method you can try – a full factory reset. However, keep in mind that this procedure will erase everything from your phone, including contacts, photos, apps and other files.
In such a case, it is better to have a backup version of your phone. Really make sure that it was made before the malicious application got on your smartphone. Otherwise, you will download the same malware again. Also, you might lose the data downloaded after the last backup. For this reason, we recommend backing up your phone as often as possible.
To restore your Android phone to factory settings, you must do the following steps:
- Connect your device to the charger.
- Open the Settings menu and go to System > Reset options.
- Tap Erase all data.
- The phone will then ask for a PIN code; enter it. Press Erase all data again to confirm your decision.
If you are using an iPhone:
- Connect your device to the charger
- Launch Settings and press General
- Scroll down the menu and press Reset
- Select Erase All Content and Settings
- If you have an iCloud backup, your phone will ask you if you want to update the backup or erase it right away. You’ll also need to decide whether to delete potentially valuable photos and messages.
Prevent Your Phone From Being Hacked
Whether you use Android or iPhone, you should always think twice before downloading apps from unauthorized app stores. They may contain dangerous malware.
However, this is not the only way malware can infiltrate your smartphone. You can accidentally download malware when using public Wi-Fi. Check your phone’s activity more often to know about an unpleasant incident and take timely action.
Pro Tip: See our tutorial on how to install and configure private VPN on your phone to protect confidential data.
Tell us in the comments if you’ve experienced your phone being hacked?
