Signs of potential phone hack can look small and insignificant but usually there’s a deeper problem that you’ve been hacked or their is malware. The good news is if you notice these little signs you can stop it from getting worse. There are many things you can do to prevent your phone from being hacked:
Use online protection software. This gives you a first line of defense for attacks.
Stay away from third party app stores. App Store and Google Play has measures in place to make sure that apps are safe and secure. Both stores are quick to remove malicious apps when they are discovered therefor making them much safer than third party app stores that may not have that feature in place. Some third party app stores intentionally have malicious apps as scam.
Passwords: having a good protective password should include the alphabet, symbol and numbers and using your name isn’t a good password and don’t use the same password for everything this just makes it easier for hackers.
Update your phone and apps: this fixes bugs and helps your apps running smoothly while adding additional features that will be helpful in preventing hacks.
Public charging stations: there have been hackers installing malware in charging stations, so avoid these stations if you can and instead opt for power banks.
Private network with a VPN instead of public wifi where you are more exposed.
Theft: Preventing hacking is preventing theft. It can simply happen because the phone fell into the wrong hands. Make sure your phone is password protected, stored in your pocket where it isn’t visible, having a device tracking turned on and being able to wipe it from another device if you have to. Both iOS and android devices provides this feature.
The same way you can password protect your phone you can also lock your SIM, that way it prevents your phone from being used in other network.
Signs that your phone is hacked and what to do:
if you stop receiving calls and messages it could indicate that a hacker is using a cloned SIM card. They must have gotten it from your cell phone provider and to resolve this issue call the service provider to resolve the issue.
the battery life on your phone decreases with time naturally but if the battery drops fast take note. Reseting your phone can help with this and is also the easiest way to get rid of malware.
Unrecognized apps on your phone could suggest the work of a hacker if so delete the application on your phone.
Slow phone: If your phone screen freezes, apps crashing, slow and restarts, it’s a sign of hacking.
Inappropriate pop ups on your phone could suggest hacking.
There could be unknown calls and messages that have been initiated from your phone that could be a sign of a hacker. In this case you should definitely inform your contacts that your phone has been hacked and they shouldn’t click on suspicious messages received.
High data usage: well higher than it normally would be, its likely that a hacker is using your data and running apps in the background.
Trustworthy anti-malware apps that you can run to detect and get rid of them.
There could be unusual activity on your social media that you don’t recognize and that could easily lead to identity theft.
Reset and change passwords.