There may be times when you do not recall sending a message or see an unrecognised activity on your WhatsApp — beware it may be possible that your account is hacked or ‘stolen’. It is a situation where someone gains unauthorised access to your WhatsApp account and uses it without your permission.
How WhatsApp account can be stolen
There are a number of ways for a WhatsApp account to be ‘stolen,’ including SIM swapping, phishing scams, malware attack or using unsecured Wi-Fi.A ‘Stolen WhatsApp’ account can be a nightmare as it exposes one’s private chats, sensitive information and even puts contacts at risk. WhatsApp offers some steps to reclaim such ‘stolen’ accounts.
How to identify whether WhatsApp account has been stolen
When your contacts start receiving WhatsApp messages from you that you did not send, you see status updates and posts in WhatsApp groups that you did not create, it means someone else is using your account.
It may be possible that someone else may be using your account from a desktop or WhatsApp Web that you had earlier connected to. You can undo this first to be sure you are not dealing with a case of hackers.
What to do of WhatsApp account is stolen
How WhatsApp account can be stolen
There are a number of ways for a WhatsApp account to be ‘stolen,’ including SIM swapping, phishing scams, malware attack or using unsecured Wi-Fi.A ‘Stolen WhatsApp’ account can be a nightmare as it exposes one’s private chats, sensitive information and even puts contacts at risk. WhatsApp offers some steps to reclaim such ‘stolen’ accounts.
How to identify whether WhatsApp account has been stolen
When your contacts start receiving WhatsApp messages from you that you did not send, you see status updates and posts in WhatsApp groups that you did not create, it means someone else is using your account.
It may be possible that someone else may be using your account from a desktop or WhatsApp Web that you had earlier connected to. You can undo this first to be sure you are not dealing with a case of hackers.
What to do of WhatsApp account is stolen
- Sign into WhatsApp with your phone number and verify your phone number by entering the 6-digit code you receive via SMS.
- Once you enter the 6-digit SMS code, the individual using your account is automatically logged out.
- You might also be asked to provide a
two-step verification code. If you don’t know this code, the individual using your account might have enabled two-step verification. - You must wait 7 days before you can sign in without the two-step verification code.
- Regardless of whether you know this verification code, the other individual was logged out of your account once you entered the 6-digit SMS code.
