Recovering a hacked account

As our world becomes more digital, we find ourselves creating many accounts for different online services. And any one of these accounts can be the target of a cyber criminal. If you find yourself logged out of one of your accounts unexpectedly, that can be a sign that your account has been compromised. Security notices of login attempts from strange locations and at unusual times are also signs that your account may have been accessed by cyber criminals. Having a hacked account can be stressful, but there are steps you can take to securely recover your account and prevent it from getting compromised again.

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Step 1: Attempt to access your account

If you are logged out of an account unexpectedly, such as being logged out of an account that you usually do not log out of, go to your account’s recovery page, usually found under “need help” or “settings”. Then, answer the security questions in place to help recover your account.

Step 2: Contact the provider of your account

Whether you have lost access to your email account (for example, if you locked yourself out by too many wrong password attempts) or you suspect your account may have fallen into the hands of a cyber criminal, reporting it to your provider is extremely important. Service providers can offer more insight into how your account may have been comprised. Reporting it can also help them keep track of other suspicious online behaviour.

Step 3: Change your passphrases and passwords

A strong password or passphrase is the first line of defence against an unauthorized user accessing your accounts. A common way a cyber criminal may attempt to take over your account is by guessing your password, which is easier to obtain if your password is weak. If possible, use a strong and unique passphrase instead of a password. Passphrases combine four or more random words and a minimum of 15 characters.

Step 4: Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds another layer of authentication to help secure your accounts from being accessed by anyone but yourself. Enabling MFA can protect your account information from bots, phishing and other cyber threats. MFA focuses on security features that are unique to you, such as a PIN, a security question or your fingerprint. It helps protect your information even if your password has been compromised.

Conclusion

Recovering a hacked account is never fun and may seem like a difficult task. But following these steps can help help you recover your account and using strong passphrases and enabling MFA are some of the ways that can prevent it from getting compromised again.

Visit the Get Cyber Safe website for more helpful tips on securing your accounts.

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