No one wants to come to the realization that their phone has been hacked — it’s truly a nightmare come to life. As soon as you discover your phone has been compromised, the clock starts ticking, and it becomes more important than ever to change all of your passwords, figure out what kind of data may have been stolen, cancel credit cards if necessary, etc.
The sooner you make this discovery though, the better it will be all around. If you can detect that something is wrong with your phone — and have your suspicions confirmed — you can get a head start on taking the necessary steps to protect as much of your data as possible. Fortunately, your phone will provide signs if you have been hacked, so if any of these five strange behaviors begin affecting your phone, here’s what to do.
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1. Battery Drainage
When your phone has been hacked, the hacker may install spyware or malware on your device. These programs run in the background, and this can cause your battery to slow down and drain faster.
2. Overheating
Running programs on your phone in the background can cause it to heat up. Overheating is dangerous for your phone because it can cause your battery to deteriorate. If your phone is constantly overheating, this could be a sign that a hacker has compromised your device.
3. Weird Apps on Your Phone
Finding apps on your phone that you didn’t download yourself? This is a sign that a hacker has control of your device. You can find out which unfamiliar apps or configuration profiles are on your phone by going to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
4. Messages and Calls You Didn’t Send
The minute friends start telling you that they keep receiving strange messages and calls from your number that you didn’t send, alert them to the possibility that you’ve been hacked and take action (more on that in a minute).
5. Pop-Ups
Apple products are notoriously good about blocking pop-ups, so the minute you start getting them, your radar should go up. Be alert is Safari and other apps redirect you to other pages or act buggy, as well.
There are a few steps you should take right away if you suspect your iPhone has been hacked. Restart your phone to shut down spyware, update your iOS, delete any and all apps that you didn’t download yourself, and change your Apple ID password. As a last resort, reset your iPhone by going to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. But realize that this move will wipe out your phone completely so back up your data first.
