Mobile phone is our life. And although it may seem like an exaggerated statement, keep in mind that on your mobile, you have many things that say who you are: your contacts, your email, your social networks, your photos, your private groups, and your bank details. There is so much information that many criminals want to access and use to their advantage.
Hacking is the order of the day, and many users live every day with how third parties have intercepted their accounts and data. Sometimes it can take a long time to realize someone has accessed our smartphone.
What must we consider to know if our mobile has been hacked?
Just by paying some attention to your mobile phone, you can tell if you have been the victim of a hack. Look at the elements that we discuss below.
Performance failures: Is your device running at the correct speed? Has it slowed down in a short time? Perhaps you are the victim of malware running in the background on your terminal.
Excessive advertising: When you unlock your phone, advertising notifications or ads appear; you may have adware on your mobile. Keep an eye on the latest apps you have installed because some may have caused this problem.
Messages from strangers: Tarot messages, horoscopes, online shopping, adult content? Some malware may have subscribed you to a premium service (and sent notifications to your contacts). Be careful because these services are usually paid and quite expensive.
Apps you haven’t installed: Malware also installs apps without your permission. They are difficult to remove.
The battery drains faster than usual. Because your mobile is constantly working, remember that you can see which applications consume the most battery even if you don’t know it. You will know which application is infected and delete it.
Overheated mobile: It also indicates that your mobile carries out processes in the background or transfers data without your consent. This increases the temperature of the battery.
The mobile works by itself. It should be silent (except for notifications, calls, or alarms). If it makes noises you don’t understand, suddenly lights up the screen, or restarts without doing anything to it, someone may be controlling it remotely.
Data consumption increases. You should review your monthly consumption to detect sudden increases that have nothing to do with the use you have made of your mobile.
Noise on calls: If you hear background noise, the person you are talking to sounds far away and choppy; someone may be infiltrating your call and listening to the conversation.
The mobile takes a long time to turn off. Granted, it has to shut down all processes before doing it, so only you can tell if it’s taking longer than usual.
Website redirect: Do you try to access a website, and another one loads? Are you browsing, and another website appears? Some malware is trying to take you to a specific website because it earns money by taking you to that ad or because it wants to do phishing.
Remember that these elements are only indicators. Your mobile may not be hacked and may be overheated, for example.
Codes to know if my mobile phone has been hacked
Next, we will give you some combinations that will help you know if third parties are intervening on your mobile. They are codes the Association of Internet Users shares to be used safely.
##002#: A universal code disables call forwarding. With it, the redirections of your phone will be deactivated instantly.
*#62#: If our contacts tell us that our number is out of service or does not respond, we should check it with this code. Checking it will indicate where calls, messages, and data are redirected.
*#twenty-one#: Very similar to the previous one, it tells us if our calls are being diverted to another number with a difference: it shows a small screen where it is indicated by text if any service is really being diverted.
We remind you that knowing your IMEI in case of loss or theft can also be useful since it can help you locate your mobile. To do this, you must use the code *#06#.
One solution to remove the hack is to restore your phone to factory settings. All data stored on it will be deleted, including apps and virus-related information used to hack the device. Hard, but effective.
We often do not take the necessary measures to protect our smartphones due to ignorance or even believing it will not happen to us. It is not so difficult to maintain the security of our mobile. Now you know how to know if your mobile has been hacked.
