In this post, I will go through a few easy-to-follow, but potentially hard-to-think list that you can follow the moment you understand your account is being hacked. (Of course the first step is not to allow that to happen! - more about this below)
I had this awful incident happening to me a few days ago, and even though I tried to be cool and think clearly - it was not possible to do everything I should have done on time. I will describe what happened to me and create an easy guide of what to consider both before something like similar happens to you and after you realize that someone is in your account and locked you out.
The BEFORE
Noone believes that they will be hacked.
We think that we are smarter, quicker, following all the guidelines like keeping our passwords up to date, not clicking unknown links, having an updated antivirus etc etc
Nothing is ever enough.
Scammers are always one step ahead, and this is because it is what they do. They are searching for vulnerabilities and try harder and smarter every time.
There are many guidelines to follow, I will mention some simple steps here that should be enough to keep in mind.
- Keep your antivirus up to date
- Keep your main email always safe (2FA, change passwords often, use recovery email - telephone)
- Dont click on any links before checking out who sent them (i.e. from bank, exchanges, even friends)
- Some accounts make it obligatory for setting up a 2FA, in cases they do not, make sure to
- Enable 2FA everywhere possible.
For more in depth information, you can check the below links
https://goproconsultant.com/blogs/how-to-prevent-hacking-10-best-practices/
https://medium.com/@nickrosener/an-in-depth-guide-to-personal-cybersecurity-be98ba47c968
The AFTER
I had noticed some strange emails about someone trying to get in my LinkedIn profile, so I simply got in, changed my password and added my telephone.
2FA; I thought I would do it later.
Later turned out to be too late.
I would be away for an excursion the next day. It was the weekend.
I got up early, made my coffee and did not check my emails.
Stupid.
I went out with friends and checked my emails quickly at least 6 hours later.
It was then that I saw someone had added an unknown email to my account.
I tried logging in, it was impossible. They had set up 2-F-A with another telephone number (dah!)
Mistake number 1:
When I saw the email, I should not only have changed my pass - but also enabled 2FA. That would stop them right there, right that moment.
Mistake number 2.
I did not check my emails before I left home that day. It would have saved some time
Mistake number 3.
I did not search what exactly steps I should follow after being locked out my LinkedIn account
I started the recovery process - thankfully I had a driving license with me.
But that would take 24-48 hours
(I really needed to get back to my friends, so I spent some time but not enough to try and figure out what else I should do)
I waited 24 hours, but in the meantime I read some articles and here is what I learned.
- You should do the recovery process
- You should ask a friend or two to report your account as potentially being hacked (this should block the account from being able to send messages and impersonating you)
- You should follow up with them, potentially even through their social media accounts (I contacted LinkedIn support via x and they were helpful)
- Make sure to do any steps that is required to regain access to your account.
After you get back in your account, make sure to check your posts - comments - messages and inform people of what happened.
LinkedIn has a special feature where they clean up your account (removing any unauthorized content)
To sum up, you should at first try to be always safe.
If for some reason you need to fix a hack, make sure to follow all the steps as suggested by the medium itself.
(at the same time, try to report and block the hacked account so that your friends-connections do not get scammed)
I wish you all the best
Let me know if you have a similar story that happened to you and the outcome.
(Image created with Bing)