What to do if Phone is hacked?

How to fix a hacked Android phone?

If you suspect that your Android phone has been hacked and you are not sure about – what to do if my phone is hacked, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I am going to show how to fix a hacked Android phone in simple steps.

‘What to do if Phone is hacked’, is a query you may sometimes hear from Android users nowadays. As most users are now using Android phones globally, the hackers are mainly targeting Android for mobile banking attacks.

Maximum mobile phone users are not aware of mobile phone hacking and data breaches, which are increasing every day. Though Android phones are considered quite safe to use because of their many security features, the old versions of the phone, whose operating systems are not getting security updates, are more vulnerable to such hacking. But, that doesn’t mean that the new devices can’t get hacked. Now, how to tell if your Android is hacked?

Let me first make it clear what does hacking mean before I show the signs that you got your Android hacked and how to fix a hacked Android phone.

What does hacking mean?

Hacking means unauthorized access into a network or digital devices, such as computers, smartphones, or tablets to steal data, corrupt systems or files, or disrupt data-related activities.

How to tell if your Android is hacked – major signs of hacking 

Nowadays hackers have various ways to hack or SPY on your Android phone or take complete control of your device. Now, how to tell if your Android is hacked.

If your mobile phone shows any suspicious or inappropriate behavior, there’s a chance that you got your phone hacked or infected. Below are some of the major signs of an Android phone hack that may give rise to your doubt – is my Android phone hacked?

1. Inappropriate content or ads are popping up on your phone;

2. Your phone making calls or sending or receiving text messages without your knowledge;

3. Sudden increase in usage of mobile data;

4. Presence of new apps on your smartphone that you don’t recognize or remember downloading;

5. The phone’s battery suddenly drains faster than before;

6. Phone getting unusually hot while using;

7. Your phone suddenly gets slower than before and crashes while using some websites;

8. Phone Turns On/Off by itself;

Now what to do if phone is hacked? Find below how to fix a hacked Android phone.

How to fix a hacked Android phone

Now that I have indicated how to tell if your Android is hacked let me also answer the frequent query by Android users  – what to do if phone is hacked to resolve the issue?

If you got your Android hacked try the following solutions on how to fix a hacked Android phone.

1. Reboot your phone

Many serious Android issues can often be fixed simply by rebooting your device. Therefore, before going for other solutions, first, try this simple way to fix a hacked Android phone. If the hacker has targeted your device just once and not going to repeat such hacking then this solution may work for you. To reboot your phone do the following:

Press and hold down the Power button > select the Restart or Reboot button (depending on your device) on the next window > wait while the process completes;

Once your phone reboots, check to see if the issue has been resolved.

2. Clear the device Cache

The pop-up ads about a handful of apps and reduced performance of your phone, which are some of the signs of getting your Android phone hacked, can also happen due to unnecessary files and apps installed on your device and low storage space. Clearing your Android phone cache may, therefore, fix the issue in such a situation. Here are the steps to follow to clear the cache of your phone without losing any data:

i. Turn off your device;

ii. Once the device is turned off press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons simultaneously until you see the Android logo;

iii. When the Recovery screen loads move down to select ‘Wipe device cache’ using the ‘Volume’ button to navigate and wait for the device to reset;

iv. Once the cache has been wiped clean restart your Android device;

You may also like to read this post: How to clear app cache on iPhone

3. Run Antivirus Scan

If you find suspicious activities on your Android phone, then go for a security check on your device using an advanced antivirus or antimalware software. An antivirus app is vital for every smartphone for blocking the entry of any virus-infected files into the device and also for removing viruses from your phone.

4. Remove unused or suspicious apps

If there is an app that you haven’t installed on your device or there is an old app installed from the Google Play Store that is not supported by the developer anymore, it will provide space for the hackers to insert malware or adware into your device. Therefore, in such cases the first course of action on how to fix a hacked phone is, to remove the unused or suspicious apps from your phone. To remove the redundant apps from your Android device,

Go to settings > Apps or Application Manager > tap on the app to be removed > Press Uninstall

5. Disable call diversion/forwarding

There are some risks associated with the call diversion/forwarding feature in your Android phone. The hackers can misuse this feature to direct calls or any data for their benefit. So, to avoid any such risk, the call forwarding feature on your device should be disabled. Here are a few simple steps to disable call forwarding options on almost all Android phones

Go to your mobile’s dial pad > Tap on the vertical dots (Menu) > Call settings > Call forwarding settings > Turn off all call forwarding options (always forward when busy, when unanswered, and when unreachable).

6. Disable Spam Notifications

Spam notifications from first-party/third-party apps and web browsers may cause serious issues on your smartphone. It is, therefore, suggested to block such notifications from both of these categories even if your phone is not hacked. Here is how to block notifications from unwanted sources on your Android phone:

Whenever you see any notification from first-party/third-party apps that you don’t find useful, long-press it, which will lead you to a page where you can disable the spam notifications. To disable spam notifications from websites follow the procedure below:

Go to browser’s Settings > Site settings > Notifications

You have the option either to entirely block the notifications or to require websites to ask your permission before sending notifications

7. Factory Reset your Android Device

If none of the above solutions works for you to fix when you find your Android phone hacked, then factory resetting the device is the best option left to restore your device. Since factory resetting will make you lose all data on your phone, make sure to take a backup of all essential data of your phone before performing a factory reset. Follow the steps below to perform a factory reset of your device:

i. Turn off your phone.

ii. Next press and hold the ‘Power’ and ‘Volume Up’ buttons simultaneously till the Android logo appears;

iii. When the device logo appears, release the ‘power’ button but continue to hold the ‘volume up’ button;

iv. Now, when the Recovery screen loads, use the ‘Volume Down’ button to navigate to the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option and select it using the Power button;

v. Wait for the reset process to complete and reboot your Android device by pressing the power button when prompted by the message – Reboot System Now

You may also like to read: How to find hidden apps on Android

Frequently asked questions

Before I conclude, let me also address some of the queries often made by Android users relating to – how to fix a hacked Android phone.

Is my Android phone hacked?  

The quickest and easiest way to know ‘is my Android phone hacked’ is, to scan your phone with a security or antivirus app.  Such a scan of your device can find out for sure if any malicious software is installed onto your Android system.

How can I prevent getting my Android hacked?

To prevent getting your Android hacked, always keep your device updated, don’t download unofficial apps on your smartphone, use good malware/antivirus software, ensure login authentication on all your online accounts, create complex passwords, and avoid using public WiFi without VPN.

How to block hackers from my Android phone 

You can get the best protection against hackers by pairing a VPN with an antivirus. Having both installed on your phone a VPN and antivirus both offer extensive security on their own.

What does hacking mean for Android phones?

If someone remotely uses your Android phone without your permission to steal data, or corrupt systems or files, then it’s called Android hacking.

How does someone hack your phone?

Phone hacking is done by downloading specific spying apps designed to give the hackers access to everything on your phone like data, conversations, contacts, and even video and audio for monitoring.

How do I know if my Android phone is hacked?

When your Android phone is hacked you will notice that your device is getting slower, the battery draining fast and there is high data usage.

Strange or inappropriate pop-ups on your phone, suspicious login attempts to your online accounts, unknown apps not installed by you, text messages, or calls not made by you may also be the causes of your doubt – is my Android phone hacked?

You may also like to read this post: Can iPhones get viruses from websites

Conclusion

I have shown in the post all the major solutions about how to fix a hacked Android phone, which has been found to work in most cases.  Once it is established that your phone has been hacked from the symptoms shown under ‘how to tell if your Android is hacked’, you can go for these proven solutions. However, there are ways we can secure our devices from these threats and prevent getting our Android phones hacked.

As the internet and social media have become part of our lives, hacking of phones and data breaches are common threats to deal with nowadays. As already mentioned, although Android phones are considered quite safe to use because of their many security features, hackers can still find small loopholes and get your Android hacked. You may, therefore, sometimes hear from Android users – what to do if Phone is hacked?

Since phone security is in our hands, the three most basic steps we should take to keep our data safe online and secure our devices from hackers. These steps are,

1. Updating all the applications on our phones regularly;

2. Downloading apps only from the official stores;

3. Installing anti-malware apps;

We should also avoid using insecure websites that don’t have an SSL certificate.

In case I have missed any major solutions for how to fix a hacked phone I will be glad if you share the same with our readers in the comment section below.

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