How terrifying is the thought that your phone might be hacked and someone could be stealing and using your data without your knowledge? Pretty scary stuff. But there’s some good/not-that-great news: Often times, if you know what to look for, your phone will send you signs that a hacking has taken place. Paying attention to what may at first seem like subtle changes to your device (but will reveal themselves as bigger changes) can clue you into problems on your device that you should not ignore.
Here are three alarming signs that your iPhone may have been hacked.
Battery Drainage
One of the first clues that something is up with your phone is that its battery drains faster than usual. If you’ve gone from needing to charge your phone once a day to searching high and low for chargers several times a day, this may indicate that your phone has been hacked. A hacker could be running spyware or malware on your device that runs down your battery faster and causes it to overheat, which can eventually lead to battery degradation.
Weird Charges
Are you seeing weird charges on your phone bill and receiving strange invoices connected to purchases you never made? This is a sign that a hacker is at work behind the scenes. Hackers often get a hold of your phone’s accounts, including banking accounts and credit card information, and start off slowly by making very small and strange purchases, which is why you may see charges like $1.17 — and may be more inclined to ignore them. But, before you know it, those charges can get higher and higher. It’s very important to immediately change all of the passwords on your banking and shopping accounts (and all of the other websites you frequent) to avoid larger problems.
Unfamiliar Apps Are Downloaded
You should be able to identify all of the apps on your phone and should never have any that you didn’t download yourself. If you suddenly find mysterious apps on your phone, there’s a problem — these could be apps that a hacker downloaded after taking over your device. These apps may contain spyware that tracks your every move and password that you enter into various accounts. Delete any strange apps immediately and change the passwords for all of your accounts to keep yourself protected.
