Help, I’ve Been Hacked! A Simple Guide on What to Do if You’ve Been Hacked

Take a look at your clock and count the next 39 seconds… It only takes that much time for the next hacker to strike. That’s how common cybercrime has become.

Hacking is not as glamorous as movies make it seem. It’s a serious criminal offense that costs the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year. It can even put the safety of the entire country at risk.

Despite how common it is, it’s likely that you no idea what to do if you’ve been hacked. That’s okay — it’s never too late to learn.

To find out what steps to take after being hacked, check out the guide below.

What to Do If You’ve Been Hacked

Being hacked is one of those things that “only happens to other people.” Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It’s only becoming more common as time goes on.

If you get hacked, make sure to follow these steps.

Change Passwords

Passwords are often the culprit in many hacking scandals. People tend to use easy passwords because they’re easier to remember. If you’ve been hacked, it’s time to change them all.

Make sure your passwords are all different, have at least 12 characters, and has numbers, symbols, uppercase, and lowercase letters. You can even use password management software to make it more simple.

Check Your Devices

Hackers can also access your information directly from your device. It’s pretty terrifying to think someone could be spying on you right now.

It’s best to scan your devices with some kind of malware detector. It’s an investment worth making.

Get Fraud Alerts

It’s hard to know what information a hacker might have on you, so you need to set up precautions. One of those is fraud alerts.

Go online or call your financial institutions to set up fraud alerts. You can also set these up with all of the credit bureaus.

Get Two-Factor Authentication

Being hacked is a painful lesson to learn in data security. However, recovering from it will teach you new skills. For example, you will learn to set up two-factor authentication for all of your accounts.

Two-factor authentication requires two steps to sign in. These two steps could be a password and a text message, a password and an app key, or a password and a secure key.

Keep a Close Eye

After being hacked, it’s a waiting game. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that your hacker will be caught, and there could be other attempts to profit from your identity.

Don’t forget to keep a close eye on all your accounts for at least a couple months.

More Hacking Tips

Now that you know what to do if you’ve been hacked, it’s time to take some preventative measures.

Make sure to keep unique passwords and change them regularly. Get familiar with common scams and how to avoid them. Make sure the networks you use are secure.

For more of the latest technology tips and tricks, don’t forget to check out our page.