My account has been hacked: how can I recover it?

Tips and tricks to keep your accounts safe and how to recover them

"My account has been hacked": with all the social networks we have nowadays, it is normal that one of your accounts can be hacked. If you are afraid that this might happen to you and you won't be able to recover your hacked account, Licendi wants to minimize your worries about not being able to recover your accounts. 

To do this, we are going to explain how to recover your accounts in several of the most used platforms by users in the internet world, such as Twitter, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even WhatsApp. 

Cyber security first and foremost

As an introduction to this tutorial, it is worth noting the importance of having a good password in order to drastically reduce the chances of being cyber-attacked or having one of your accounts hacked. One of the best options available to you is to update your current password to a strong password. The second option is to use the two-step verification system already offered by a large number of websites. Don't let "my account has been hacked" be a problem in your life.

Strong passwords protect your accounts most effectively

The first hurdle to overcome when trying to get hold of any of your accounts or passwords is the use of your passwords. Therefore, having a password with a high level of security is crucial in order to prevent those "bad guys" who want to steal your data from doing so. It is obvious that a password with a weak level of protection is only going to make life easier for those trying to get your data.

If you are new to the subject of secure passwords, we can give you a few tips to improve the security of your accounts. The first and most important of these tips to protect your accounts from being hacked is that under no circumstances should you use passwords that can be obtained through social engineering. What do we mean by this word? Social engineering is based on collecting personal data and using it to create your passwords. It is therefore important that you do not use personal data that is available to anyone. You should try to avoid family names, pets and dates.

Mini tips for a good password

Another of the most common mistakes we can make is substituting letters for numbers. Stop changing characters like 3st0s and try to think of passwords that no one else can decipher. You also have to pay special attention not to use those short passwords with combinations of numbers and letters that everybody knows and uses. 12345 or aeiou are not good options, never have been and never will be. 

When managing your passwords on several accounts to prevent them from being hacked, NEVER and I repeat, NEVER use the same password on different websites.

This way, the only thing you will achieve is to make it easier for cybercriminals who want something from you to steal all your accounts. If after reading these tips you think your passwords may have been compromised at some point, you can use this page to check your data https://haveibeenpwned.com. 

However, it has been shown that one of the most effective techniques for managing your passwords is not to focus on predefined criteria and formulas. This means that you should try to create unique passwords for all your accounts and not follow these little tips of "concrete capital letters, symbols and alphanumeric combinations. To do this, we recommend that you try to use your brain a little more, try to create passwords that no one else can think of. To prevent your accounts from being hacked, try to make word combinations that would only occur to you.

Although it may seem silly, this technique has been proven to be one of the safest ways to generate your passwords. These formulas are not the typical ones known to all those cybercriminals who will try to steal your personal data for their own benefit. It is therefore important that you keep your accounts up to date and look at how you can increase the security of all your accounts.

The importance of two-step verification to prevent your accounts from being hacked

As we have already mentioned, two-step verification is one of the most secure methods you can use. Therefore, it is important that you activate this option in all services where it is available. This service, also known as two-factor (F2A), adds an extra guideline when logging in from new devices to any of the services or hacked accounts you want to protect. 

This two-step verification ensures that whenever you are going to log in to a new device, you must first use your username and password. If the data we have entered is correct, we will be redirected to a second step. Now, simply enter a new password, which will be sent directly to your main device by another means.

There are a few ways to use this two-step verification, but it depends on the service you want to use. However, this two-step verification always has the same purpose. To verify that it is you who wants to access one of your accounts. 

It is for these reasons that the methods are usually to send emails directly to your main inbox or even send an SMS to the emails or phones chosen by you.

As mentioned above, it is important to be clear that you will need to use a second device that you own. This type of verification means that even if a cybercriminal manages to guess your password, these services will be useless, as they will need to use the code that will only be sent to your email or mobile phone.

How do I know if my accounts have been cyber-attacked?

If you have suffered a breach of your accounts, mainly two different things can happen. This will always depend on the "bad guy's" own intentions for your account.  Sometimes you will realise straight away because the cyber-attack will focus on stealing your accounts and this will prevent you from accessing them, making it almost impossible for you to recover them. Obviously, your account has been stolen and you will need to recover it. 

• Content that you have no record of: If you wake up one day and realise that the content you have been uploading to your social networks has never passed through your devices. This is a good reason to identify whether you may have been the victim of a cybersecurity breach.
• Stranger contacts: This is one of the most difficult to identify. This is because some hackers steal our accounts and then use them as bots. What does this mean? Basically, your social network accounts will be following a few users that you have never followed at any time. 
• Messages to contacts you don't know about: If any of your contacts tell you that they have received strange messages from you, it is possible that one of your accounts has been hacked. Perhaps it is being used to send spam emails or even some malicious messages. 
• You receive emails in your inbox informing you of changes to your accounts: If you have suffered some kind of cyberattack on one of your accounts, you may receive messages informing you of logins or even changes in the ownership of your email addresses.

Have you suffered a cyber-attack? We tell you how to recover your accounts 

If you have been unlucky enough to have one of your accounts stolen by a cybercriminal, here is a brief summary of the methods you need to use to recover your accounts on the main social networks. In order to keep it simple, we will try to summarise as far as possible how you can recover your lost accounts in the event of a cyber-attack. 

My Microsoft account has been hacked

Your Microsoft account is one of the most important accounts if you have several devices linked to it. This is because every time you use a new device with a Windows or even Android operating system, it is automatically logged into your Microsoft account access.

Therefore, you should do your best to prevent possible attacks by configuring your Microsoft account so that you can recover it in the event of a cyberattack.  If you have not done so, there is a form where you can fill in a form to recover your account: https://account.live.com/acsr

Once you have entered the website, you will have to fill in the necessary fields to continue with the process: email, telephone, or Skype name of the Microsoft account. You will also be asked for your current email address and to fill in a captcha code. 

When you complete the process, a security code will be sent to you. This will redirect us to a form with three pages where we will have to provide our information for the recovery of our account. Some of the information you will be asked for will be your name and surname, date of birth, previously used passwords, etc…

One of the great benefits of this data recovery system is that if you have any doubts about the passwords created, you can make a few tests without fear of making a mistake, as you will not be penalised for incorrect information.

Recover your Apple account

As you know if you are a loyal Apple user, all your account data such as videos or contacts will be linked to your Apple ID. This is why we strongly recommend that you follow Apple's advice on how to get your hacked account back. However, if you have skipped these steps and your account has been stolen, don't worry, there is a way to get it back. 

The first step you need to take to start recovering your Apple ID is to access the following link: https://iforgot.apple.com/password/verify/appleid . Once inside you will need to use your email address corresponding to your Apple ID.

One of the most positive aspects of Apple is that they will accompany you through the process, clearly marking the steps to follow. Once you have filled in all the information requested, they will send you a message with the necessary permissions to reset your password. 

If we don't put you in the worst possible situation and you don't have access to any of your devices such as your iPhone, select You don't have access to any of your Apple devices? In case this is the option you need, support gives you three options:

Reset your password while you log in to a new device. Use the IPhone of an acquaintance or family member. Or you can visit an Apple Store where they can offer you more personalised help.

Recover your Instagram account

The photo app par excellence has three different ways to recover your account. These can be used if you have forgotten your password or even if your data has been stolen. To do this, from the homepage or in the App, you must click on the option Forgot your password? which is next to the fields you have to fill in to recover it. 

Once inside the menu, we will find ourselves in the part where we can recover our password. In this part, we will have to write our email address, the user or the telephone number with which we have linked the account. We will then receive an email with a link where we can change our password for a new one. 

If all this fails, the only option available is to click on the button "Can't change password? The app will then redirect us to a new screen where we will have all the guidelines to recover the hacked account.

To recover your Facebook account

One of the great advantages that Facebook offers us to recover our hacked account is the ease with which we can deal with this type of problem. If we want to reinforce our security, we can access the following address https://www.facebook.com/hacked. Once inside the page, click on the My account has been compromised option. However, from this address we will be able to reinforce our privacy as long as we are logged in.

As in the vast majority of processes, in this process we will be asked for our personal details such as the current email address with which the hacked account is linked to the phone number and our password.

However, if our account has been hacked and they have managed to change our password, we have the option of receiving an SMS or email to reset our password details. 

On the other hand, if the offender has managed to change all our data, we have a last option marked as No longer have access? This link will check if we are trying to access our account from a previously used device.

Recover WhatsApp account

Just like the big giant of the Meta group, WhatsApp is going to make life pretty easy for us when it comes to recovering our account. As we don't have a username or password, all we have to do is log in again with the account we want to recover. This will automatically log you out of WhatsApp on all other devices. 

However, if someone else connects from another device with our hacked account, the whole process will be blocked and we will not be able to recover our account directly. But don't worry, if this happens to you, the messaging application gives you the option to recover your hacked account. All you have to do is press the call me button and wait for the answering machine to ring and tell you the code to enter.

If on the other hand all these recovery methods fail, our last option is to delete our phone number. Although it may seem that this step is the most tedious of all, let us assure you that it is not. All we need to do is send an email with the following guidelines to: support@whatsapp.com.

In the same email, in the subject line, we must write the following: Stolen/Strapped phone: I wish to deactivate the account associated with the phone +34 "here your personal number". 

Once the email has been sent, bear in mind that each and every one of the sessions you have started with your account will be closed, but the cybercriminals will have lost control over your hacked account. If the problem is that your phone has been stolen, you should ask your operators to change your SIM card.

Recover your TikTok account

As with Facebook and WhatsApp, TikTok offers us some relatively simple alternatives for recovering our hacked account. As we can see in the image, one of the most positive parts of the video platform is that it allows us to have our accounts linked to other social networks.

This is a great advantage as it allows us to have the option of recovering our access to our hacked accounts with any of the chosen options.

If, on the other hand, the cybercriminal has gone ahead and decided to unlink all our associated accounts, we will only have the option of filling in the feedback form asking for help to re-establish the account. You can also send an email to feedback@tiktok.com to report any problems you may have encountered. 

My Twitter account has been hacked

There are two different methods with which we can recover our hacked Twitter account. One of the easiest we can use is to reset our password using the following link: https://twitter.com/account/begin_password_reset.

Once inside, all you have to do is enter your email address, username or even your personal phone number to receive an email to reset your account. 

If this option is not enough because they have managed to change all your data, there is a form that you can send to the Twitter help centre. To do this, all you have to do is fill in the corresponding boxes with the necessary data to continue with the process.

Recover Snapchat account

To recover your hacked Snapchat account, all you need to do is log in to the app on your mobile phone. You can also access the official Snapchat website by following this link: https://accounts.snapchat.com/accounts/login.

If you are unable to access your account with the relevant password, you will only need to access it from the Forgotten Password button to receive the recovery.

These steps will take you to another screen where you simply select one of the two options provided by the site. Whichever option you choose, a recovery code will be sent to the email or phone number you registered with.    

As usual, if these steps fail to recover your hacked account, you will need to access technical support via the following link: https://support.snapchat.com/es/i-need-help. Once inside, indicate your problem and wait for them to provide you with the necessary methods to recover your account.

Do you have any questions?

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Best regards,

Your Licendi Team