Has Your WhatsApp Account Been Hacked? Here’s What You Need To Do
Do not share your six-digit WhatsApp activation code with anyone as you run the risk of being hacked.
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WhatsApp is the most popular messaging application in the world with billions of users on its platform. The popularity of the messaging app has also become its foe as a lot of bad actors try to hack the platform in order to steal sensitive information from its users.
Fraudsters have often tried to trick users into revealing their six-digit verification code which is an OTP to log into the app. Sharing your WhatsApp verification code with someone can result in your WhatsApp getting hacked.
Even if you’ve made that mistake, don’t worry, as there is a way you can recover your hacked WhatsApp account and here’s how.
Inform WhatsApp & Others
The first thing you need to do is inform WhatsApp about the mishap and you can even reach out to them via email at support@whatsapp.com. Make sure you put “Lost/Stolen: Please deactivate my account” in the text body.
Also, inform your friends and family members about the issue so that they are aware before the hacker sends them objectionable texts.
Upon successful deactivation you’ll have 30 days to reactive your account else all your saved chats and media backed up in the cloud will be deleted.
Reactivate WhatsApp
You can reactivate the same WhatsApp number on a different account once you get the duplicate SIM. When you ask for reactivation, WhatsApp will send you a six-digit code which you have to enter. Once you enter the code the hacker will automatically be logged out of your account.
If you are not able to get a duplicate SIM on time it’s recommended that you delete your WhatsApp account so that the miscreants are not able to misuse your account.
Remember, uninstalling WhatsApp is not as same as deleting. You’ll have to go to WhatsApp’s web support to get the account deleted.
In case the hacker has activated two-step verification process then WhatsApp will ask you to enter that code. Since you wouldn’t know what code the hacker has used you’ll have to wait for seven days to recover your account.
What’s a relief is that while you have to wait for your account to be recovered the hacker won’t have access to your WhatsApp account.
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