How to understand if our phone has been hacked: the 9 signs to watch out for

The hacking of mobile devices and, in particular, of smartphonesis an increasingly pressing threat, which affects each of us, with the risk, for example, of seeing one’s sensitive data stolen for criminal purposes. The risk spares no one: any type of mobile phone, whether Android or iPhone, can in principle be hacked. Understanding if your smartphone has been compromised by hackers can be complex, as cybercriminals are increasingly better at silently monitoring their victims, but it is absolutely possible! That’s because there are some typical signs to understand if the smartphone is controlled by hackersincluding possible recurring call glitches, dramatically reduced battery life, unexplained increases in data usage, and strange device behavior when turned off or when unused. In this in-depth analysis we will take a closer look at 9 of these signals. Of course, when assessing the situation, try to identify the presence of more clues that put togetherthey could try to carry out espionage activities to your detriment; the occurrence of only one of these signals is usually not sufficient to conclude that espionage activity to your detriment is taking place.

Unusual sounds during calls

If you hear unusual sounds during a callsuch as interference, distant voices and the like, it is possible that someone is eavesdropping on your conversation. While a single interference is not necessarily a problem, when these sounds repeat frequently it could be a sign of monitoring activity that is occurring without your knowledge. Someone may have set up call forwarding without your permission, or you may have inadvertently installed call recording malware on your device.

Unusual behavior of the device when not in use

Unusual phone activity when not in use they are another warning sign that certainly should not be ignored. To be clear, if your phone restarts on its own or if its screen lights up for no reason while it’s on standby, there could be a malicious app controlling it remotely. In particular, sudden reboots can be used by spyware to hide their operations, updating or masking their tracks without you realizing it.

Appearance of websites changed

Sometimes, too the way your browser displays websites can change due to malware that hijacks your browsing settings. In this case, the malware can show you fake pages by tricking you into entering credentials that are immediately collected by cybercriminals. Therefore, avoid continuing to browse sites that appear different from how you remember them, especially if they are sensitive pages, such as those relating to your social accounts or home banking.

Anomalies in battery life and temperature

The anomalies in battery life they should not be ignored. Aside from hardware battery malfunctions, if your phone runs out of battery quickly even when you’re not using it, it could host spy software, which constantly operates in the background to transmit your data to third parties. Check in battery usage settings which are the most energy-intensive apps and if among these you find some that you have not installed or that seem suspicious to you, delete them promptly.

Another alarm bell is the abnormal battery temperature. If your phone overheats for no apparent reason, it could be due to the continuous activity of spyware that uses up a lot of your device’s resources even when you’re not using it.

Strange symbols in messages

There receiving unusual messages full of symbols or codes it could indicate that spy software has control of your device. In fact, some spyware uses encoded SMS to send remote commands to the phone and, although these messages are usually hidden, occasional anomalous behavior of malicious software could allow them to be viewed.

Abnormal Internet data consumption

A unusual increase in data consumption for web browsing with the cellular network it is a further alarm signal that must be given due weight. Transmitting large amounts of information, such as videos, photos or messages, can be typical of spyware, so it’s helpful to regularly check your cellular data usage in your device settings for spikes. This is easily done by going in Settings > Network Settings > Connections (on Android, although the steps and wording may change from device to device) or by going to Settings > Cellular and checking the statistics in the section Cellular data (on iPhone).

To spot suspicious activity, also check the list of installed applications. Some spy apps, despite hiding under generic names, require superfluous permissions compared to the function they should perform “on paper”: an app that has the name “System Update”, for example, if it asks for access to the camera or microphone , should make you have some doubts about its legitimacy.

Unrequired activation of camera and microphone

THE’unwanted activation of camera and microphone it could reveal the presence of spy software hidden in your cell phone. On some smartphones (such as iPhone) a message appears when the camera or microphone is activated green dot or orange: If you notice the presence of this indicator even when you are not using apps that require the use of the camera or microphone, these components may be under the control of a cybercriminal who is spying on you.

Presence of unsolicited management profiles

There presence of unrequired device management profiles This is another thing we suggest you check if you have any suspicion that your smartphone is being monitored remotely. This advice is particularly valid if you have an iPhone, where you can check this by going to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.

Problems turning off the device

Problems turning off the deviceespecially if these occur after browsing online, after making a call or after sending messages or emails, they could be explained by the fact that the phone is transmitting data to someone and, therefore, it must complete this process before turning off. Once the device is turned off, also check whether the display backlight remains on: this is also an important clue.

What to do if your smartphone has been hacked

If by analyzing the points listed in this article you have good reasons to believe that your smartphone has been hacked, you must immediately take action by going to eradicate malicious software on your mobile phone. To do this, you must delete all the data on it restoring the device to factory conditions. Before doing this, consider making backup copies of the data contained within it (such as photos, contacts, etc.), so as not to permanently lose them and, once you have completed the procedure, install an antivirus app ( especially if yours is an Android device), so as to avoid similar problems in the future.