Phones are prone to get hacked as the majority of people use smartphones for all their regular online transactions, banking, trading, being online on various social media platforms, etc. There are several methods that let smartphone users identify the symptoms if their phone has been hacked. Suppose you feel any one of the below you can definitely cross-check if the malicious actors have hacked your phone.
✔ Your Phone Is Behaving Differently
Phones do behave oddly at times, which is normal. But, if your phone happens to behave differently frequently or on a regular basis such as suddenly the screen turns on, the phone flashes light, makes weird noises, or shuts down by itself it could mean your phone has been hacked. The hackers might be operating your phone or utilizing it for malicious purposes. It is also that they may be acquiring data from your phone that they can sell on the various dark web marketplaces and hacking forums.
✔ Your Phone’s Battery Is Draining Fast
If spy software has been installed on your phone, it may consume a lot of battery leading to fast battery drainage. It is possible that a hacker may have installed a spy application on your phone to keep a record of your data. Also, there is a fact that as a phone gets older, it loses its ability to hold a charge for a long time, and hence, the charge drops frequently. If the second instance is not the case, then it might be that hackers are misusing your phone.
✔ Your Phone Shuts Down Frequently
If you generally do not have a problem with your phone, but you suddenly see that it blinks or shuts down more often, you can believe that hackers may have intruded on your phone. Alternatively, you can take your phone for a checkup to ensure that your phone is working fine.
✔ You Detect Background Noise
Sometimes your phone can make certain noises which may be due to a bad connection. But if you find out that this happens quite frequently, it may be a red flag. Specific sounds like static clicking, beeping, or voices in the background could be termed a threat. Call recording features or call listening features may at times make certain noises as they utilize your phone as a call conference.
✔ You Receive Unusual Texts
If you have spotted unusual text messages that bear a unique combination of numbers, characters, and symbols, then it could possibly mean that your phone has been compromised. At times, the spy apps send secret coded messages to your phone, and you may have spotted one of them or a few of them when the apps were not working correctly. If this incidence occurs very often, then your phone has been hacked for sure.
✔ Your Data Exhausts Quickly
Some of the spy apps consume more data than expected for sending information that they have collected from your phone. So, if you continuously experience a spike in your data consumption and high data charges, you can count that as a hacked incidence.
For protecting your cell phones from getting hacked, these are some of the many rules or precautions you need to completely follow.
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Update Your Applications And Operating Systems
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Don’t Connect To The Public Wi-Fi
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Always use Premium VPN when needed
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Lock Your Smartphone When Not In Use
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Do Not Overshare Your Phone Number
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Never Overshare On The Social Media
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Keep Your Phone Space Optimal
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Implement Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
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Make Use Of Strong Passwords
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Beware of Phishing And Spam Emails
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Utilize The In-built Device Protections
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Use A Good Antivirus App
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Manage Your App Permissions
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Know The Source Of The Apps
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Do Not Use The Public Chargers
Otherwise, there are high chances you will end up offering your data for free to hackers and other malicious threat actors.