First things first, in the first few minutes
If someone has got into your account, every hour counts: they can change the recovery email and phone number, ask your contacts for money while pretending to be you, or post content that harms you. Before anything else:
- Do not pay if you are asked for money to get your account back.
- Change your email password if you still have access, because almost every other account is recovered from there.
- Warn your contacts through another channel not to pay attention to messages that seem to come from you.
- Do not delete anything: messages, warning emails from the platform or screenshots will serve as evidence.
How we help
- Account recovery. We use each platform's recovery procedures, which are not always the ones you see at first glance, and we prepare the information they ask for to verify that it is you.
- Certification of evidence. Before the attacker covers their tracks, our court-appointed IT forensic expert certifies the messages, posts and changes made to the account. That way you can report it with evidence that cannot easily be challenged. More information on our IT forensic expert page.
- Warning to your contacts. We prepare a clear message so that nobody falls for the scam.
- Police report. We help you file it with Spain's National Police (Policía Nacional) or Civil Guard (Guardia Civil), or with the police where you live if you are abroad. Accessing someone else's account without permission can be a criminal offence, and if money has also been requested in your name, it may be fraud.
- Content removal. If the attacker has posted something, created profiles with your details or shared private conversations, we request their removal.
Once you get it back
Turn on two-step verification with an authenticator app, check the devices that are logged in and the connected apps, and change any passwords you reused on other services. That is what stops it happening again.
Platform by platform
- Instagram and Facebook: they have a specific procedure for hacked accounts, which sometimes asks for a video selfie to confirm your identity.
- WhatsApp: it is recovered by verifying your number again; if someone turned on two-step verification, there may be a waiting period.
- Gmail: Google's recovery process relies on information only you should know and on your usual devices.
- TikTok: it has a recovery form and support for compromised accounts.
What cannot be promised
Recovery depends on the platform. If the attacker has changed all the details and you have no way of proving the account was yours, it may not be recovered. Even so, you can ask for it to be closed so it is no longer used against you, and warn your contacts that it is no longer yours.
We work remotely and in English, with clients in any country. If it has just happened to you, tell us in the free analysis and we will reply as soon as possible.