Hackers are finding ingenious ways to hack into electronic devices and the figures speak for themselves – data breaches exposed an astounding 4.1 billion records in the first half of 2019 alone. Our phones are homes to our confidential information – emails, texts, work software (apps) that’s already logged in – and everything is susceptible to hack attacks.
Has your phone been hacked? You need to take immediate corrective action if that’s the case, but how can you be sure?
Here are some tell-tale signs that a hacker is probably controlling your phone:
It’s Sending/Receiving Strange Communication
Have anyone in your circle – friends, family or colleagues – received strange text messages from your number and you don’t remember sending them? If so, it should serve as a warning that your phone is being controlled by someone other than you.
On the other hand, if you are on the receiving end of strange texts, that might be a problem as well. This goes for emails, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter messages and any other communication channel you use.
Cellphone Bills Are Higher Than Expected
Hackers can get into your phone and use data to make overseas calls and send messages through proxy channels they’ve set up for a third party. This can rake up hefty charges and will show up in your phone bill statements.
Always get a biannual statement of your phone bills from your provider and look for any extra charges that seem out of place, signaling that your phone may have been hacked.
Quick Draining Battery And Unusual Pop-ups
Have criminals hacked your phone?
They may be running malware in the background to steal your data and keep an eye on your activities such as the websites you visit, transactions you make, and more – and they even transmit that data to third parties that pay them for it.
These actions use up battery faster than you’d expect. If you notice that you charged your phone to 100% and it drained in half the usual time, it can indicate that your phone is being monitored.
Also, if you start seeing random pop-up windows on your phone asking for permission for actions when you’ve barely touched your phone, it’s a sign that your phone is infected with malware. These pop-ups are bad news as allowing these permissions can make it easier for hackers to control your phone.
Phone Heats Up Faster
If you notice that your phone is warmer than usual and you don’t remember using it a lot, there might be extra code, malware and other background processes that make the device hotter. This usually results in a fast-draining battery.
These background processes affect your phone’s performance – for instance, apps that used to run smoothly before will get slower than expected. Malware can also slow down your phone’s network connection and contribute to the problem.
It’s not all gloom and doom, though; updating your device’s operating system could also result in slower performance, if that’s the case there’s no need to panic.
Also, if you have online gaming or other apps that use up bandwidth and take a lot of processing power, you can expect a slight drop in your phone’s performance anyway.
Spam Emails Sent From Device Counts And Unexpected Service Interference
Many of us send emails through our phones because of convenience. So if work colleagues are not receiving any of your emails and you find out they’re being marked as spam and it’s not your work email that’s at fault, it’s probably your phone.
Similarly, if you face service interruptions like not being able to call even though you have good signal strength or strange noises that aren’t coming from your or the receiver’s end, it may mean your phone’s hacked (provided it’s not a technical issue).