At the beginning it is just an assumption, which then quickly becomes a well-founded suspicion. Your account has been hacked!

By the way, this is also a common problem with hacked accounts. These are often only noticed very late. The longer the discovery lasts, the more damage may have been done in the meantime. If your online account has been hacked, you must act quickly to protect your personal information and digital footprint. But how can you be sure that your account has actually been compromised? The first clue may be a notification of suspicious activity on your account. This could be an email notifying you of a new device or unknown location that has accessed your account.

Common signs that your account may have been hacked include:

• Unexpected notifications: Receive notifications about suspicious activity, such as your account has been accessed from a new device or location, or your security settings have changed.

• Failed login attempts: Your password no longer works, even though you’re sure you entered it correctly. This could indicate that a hacker has changed your password.

• Unknown Transactions: You notice unauthorized transactions on your bank accounts or credit card statements that indicate purchases you didn’t make.

• Changed or deleted information: Your personal information, account settings, or saved files have been changed or deleted without your consent.

• Unrecognized emails or posts: You will find emails in your sent folder or posts on your social media pages that you did not create.

• Reports from contacts: Friends, family or colleagues tell you about strange messages or requests they claim to have received from you.

While these signs do not necessarily mean that your account has been hacked. They could also indicate a simple technical problem. Still, it is important to take immediate action and review the situation in such cases. It is important to act quickly and to take further steps to ensure your security.

If you find that your account has indeed been hacked, the first step is to recover your account as soon as possible. Most platforms offer processes to recover hacked accounts. You will typically be asked to verify your identity by providing an email address or phone number associated with the account. Sometimes you also need to answer some security questions.

• Once you regain access to your account, change your password immediately. Make sure you create a strong, unique password that contains a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Do not use a password that you already use for another account.

It’s also always a good idea to check and update your security questions in case the hacker saw this information. Some platforms also allow you to create a list of trusted contacts who can help you recover your account in the event of a hack.

Recovering from a hacked account can be a time-consuming process, depending on the severity of the attack and the platform you are using. Still, it’s an important step in restoring your digital security and preventing further damage. But believe me, once you’ve gone through this, it will have been an educational time for you. This is similar to the situation where you might have lost your wallet with ID, bank cards, etc.

If you know this, then you have a rough idea of the effort it takes to get everything back on track.

After recovering your account, it’s important to review and update your security measures to prevent future hacks. Enable two-factor authentication if it’s available. This requires an additional security code that is either sent to your smartphone sent or generated by an authenticator app to log into your account.

• Also check the account privacy and security settings with your provider. Make sure only the people you trust have access to your personal information. Also check if there are any unknown or suspicious devices or locations that have access to your account and remove them.

It is also advisable to use a password management tool that will help you create and securely store strong and unique passwords for all your accounts. Many of these tools can even let you know if any of the websites or services you are using have been hacked.

LastPass: This widely used tool offers a free version that allows storing an unlimited number of passwords on an unlimited number of devices. It also includes automatic password generation and form autofill features.

1Password: 1Password is known for its ease of use and comprehensive security. It also offers the ability to store passwords, credit card information, secure notes, and securely syncs your data between your devices.

Dashlane: Dashlane offers both a free and premium version. It can automatically enter passwords into over 500 popular websites and also includes a digital wallet service.

Bitwarden: Bitwarden is an open source password manager that offers both free and paid versions. It allows secure syncing of passwords across all devices and also supports two-factor authentication.

Keeper: Keeper not only offers password management, but also secure file storage and two-factor authentication. It also offers corporate and family versions.

NordPass: From the same company that powers the NordVPN service operates, NordPass is an easy-to-use password manager with a clean, intuitive interface.

A hacked account can lead to a variety of problems depending on what information the hacker obtained. For example, if your credit card information has been stolen, you should inform your bank immediately and have your cards blocked by calling the central number: 116 116. (Germany)

• If you believe that your personal information has been stolen, you should proactively address the situation. Monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity and report any fraud. It might also be helpful to subscribe to an identity theft monitoring service to protect your data.
• If you find that the hacker has sent offensive or harmful content to your contacts through your account, let them know and explain the situation. It can be embarrassing, but it’s important that you know that you should ignore these messages and not open any suspicious attachments or links. The time factor is also crucial here!

Once you regain control of your account and repair the potential damages, you should take steps to prevent future hacks. In addition to updating your passwords and enabling two-factor authentication, you should also conduct regular security reviews of your accounts.

• Be careful of emails or messages asking you to enter your credentials. This could be a phishing attempt. Never give out your passwords via email or text messages, and don’t click on suspicious links.

• It is absolutely mandatory regular back up your data. This way, in the event of a hack or data loss, you can revert to a previous version of your data. It’s also important to regularly update your operating system and software to ensure you have the latest security patches and updates.

• Make a list of all the accounts you have. Because often at some point you no longer know where you created an account over time, because you may have only used it once to get a benefit for the purchase of a product, or something else. This is also a common reason why many people use the same password for every account. Because there are simply too many accounts to be able to remember all the passwords (which should also be unique). Then the circle closes again, and we are the password manager in the topic discussed above.

We hope that with this guide we have been able to give you some help on what to do if your online account has been hacked. It’s not the end of the world, but it requires immediate, quick and structured action without panicking. As a consequence, the incident must also be processed and preventive measures must be taken.