In today’s tech advancement, there are a lot of ways to protect your phone from hacking and all sorts of malicious activities. There are devices that are particularly designed to lockdown whenever there are dubious attacks. But, no matter how great these devices are, nothing is perfect and there are still harmful attacks targeting your personal information, passwords, and bank details. Knowing such attacks will help shield yourself from possible encounters in the future.
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Social Engineering
Even for robbers, the easiest way to get into your property is when the person personally opens their doors. Most social engineering attacks aim to make this happen even if the process is tough and it is so much easier said than done. Every smartphone has strict security measures to prevent such attacks. But through the applications that you download to your phone, these hackers can get through the security procedures. There are certain applications that require you to allow access to several areas of your phone. This paves the way for hackers to enter your personal space.
Malvertising
Malvertisements are deceptive dialog boxes that ride on mobile apps that are downloaded to your phone. For instance, there is a game that you recently downloaded. However, it is asking you to unlock your phone and turn off any security features that you have. They will then try to install malicious applications on your phone that will help them keep track of your activities.
Smishing
Smishing is a different form of attack since it is particularly done through the use of SMS text messages. With smishing, the attacker will try to impersonate a person close to you or a trusted one such as your employer or employee, and let them review an attached document or download a specific app. Unsuspecting individuals will then do as they say and end up giving their personal information to robbers.
Malware
Another well-known way of getting access to someone else’s phone is by injecting malware into your phone. If the hacker fails to get through your phone by making you click a button or lowering your security barriers, then they will try those who had their phones jailbroken. Jailbreaking is viewed by users as something that will allow them to customize their phones according to their likes. However, in reality, it only relaxes the strict security of your smartphone.
Can someone hack a phone with just a phone number?
No. Hacking follows a complicated process. You cannot simply type a number and click hack for the activity to push through. It undergoes a process that involves the things mentioned above. Especially with the modern technology that we have nowadays, security barriers on our phones heighten security.
How do you know if your phone is hacked?
There are several indications that could mean that your mobile phone is being viewed by someone else. Check these out;
Battery That Runs Out Fast
Is your phone usually low in battery consumption? Or are you using fewer apps most of the time? If so, spyware might be running in the background causing your battery level to diminish significantly.
Lags
Have you noticed your phone freezing and crashing from time to time? Do you find it unusual especially if your phone’s ram is top of the line? If so, the resources on your phone might have been taken over by malware. This is making the applications on your phone crash or freeze every time you use them.
High Data Usage
Malware is the culprit to this. They are sending over important data to the remote server causing you to have high data usage.
Numerous Pop-Ups and Unfamiliar outgoing texts and calls
Have you noticed your phone having outgoing calls and texts that you didn’t personally make? This will spike up your bill especially if the calls are made on premium-rate numbers. Numerous pop-ups, on the other hand, are quite annoying. They are an indication that your phone is infected with spyware and malicious apps.
What number to call to check if your phone is tapped?
Luckily, there are numbers that you can dial to know if your phone has been tapped or bugged.
*#21# – reveals if spyware is hijacking your data, texts, and calls.
*#62# – if you encounter frequent diversions.
*#002# – reveals all calls forwarding status.
*#67# – keeps you updated for calls and texts being transferred to another number.
*#004# – gives you access to all conditional forwards.
*#61# – lets you know if someone else receives your calls.
