Tell-tail signs that your phone is hacked

Marketing Team
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21/9/2021
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3 mins

Some handy tips to help you outsmart hackers and keep your personal information safe.

From online shopping to paying bills and finding love, our lives revolve around our smartphones. 

And while there’s no doubt technology has made our lives convenient, it has also made it easier for hackers to invade our privacy. Worried about whether your phone has been hacked? Keep an eye out for these warning signs.


1) Is your battery draining super quickly?

If your phone battery is draining faster than usual, it could be a sign that apps are running in the background. Phone spyware is on all the time and uses a lot of power that drains the battery in the process. However, it is also possible that you may have accidentally downloaded malware that is affecting your phone.


2) Is there a spike in data usage? 

If you’ve noticed that your data usage is unusually high, especially if you haven’t been doing anything out of the ordinary, it’s possible that someone could be monitoring your device. A data monitoring app from trusted sources that look for anomalies or exceptionally large periods of uploading can help. A huge spike in uploaded data that persists without a real-world explanation might indicate that your phone is hacked. 


3) Are you experiencing poor overall performance? 

If your phone is suddenly loading pages at snail’s pace and is crashing all the time, there could be cause for concern. Try shutting it down, if it doesn't shut down correctly or doesn’t switch off at all, there's a chance it may have been hacked. Also, note if the timing in other functionalities seems off. Especially delays in sending or receiving texts or making phone calls. 


4) Do you see strange calls and texts on your phone? 

If you’ve noticed texts and calls that you haven’t made to numbers on your list of contacts, be alert. Monitor this activity closely, as some of them could be premium-rate numbers that malware is forcing your phone to contact so that a hacker can access information in your phone. 


5) Are you getting spammy pop-ups? 

Strange screensavers or spammy pop-ups can also mean that your phone has been compromised. While not all pop-ups indicate that something is wrong, an increasingly high number of pop-ups could be a sign that your phone is infected with adware, which forces devices to view specific sites that generate revenue through clicks.


6) Do you see apps that you didn’t download? 

Another red flag is seeing an app that you do not recall downloading or have never used. In a messy phone library, a single extra app with malicious intent may go unnoticed. If you do see an unfamiliar app, delete it or do a little research to check if it’s legit. 


7) Are you noticing unusual activity in your accounts? 

Unusual behaviour on your email is a common sign of a malicious hack and presents a risk to your data. Watch out for emails about password resets you did not make, security messages notifying you that your account has been accessed using a new device, etc.


How do you outsmart hackers? 

Advances in technology have made hacking phones easy and the more sophisticated the software the harder it is to detest the hack. That’s why we need to be cautious from the get-go. Downloading apps from verified sources only is a start, as is being very careful about what functions we permit apps to access. In addition, keeping your digital identity, i.e your personal phone number private can help too. 


That’s where Doosra comes in. We offer you a second number on your existing SIM via an app. It helps you stay connected while going incognito online. This way your main personal number which is often linked to sensitive information stays off a hacker’s radar. Learn more about how we can help at doosra.com and get the confidence to share your number befikar.