It just happened? Don't panic.

Good news: in most cases, you can take it back within minutes.

Do this, in order

1. Open WhatsApp and log back in with your phone number. The SMS code you receive automatically kicks out whoever took your account.
2. Turn on two-step verification: Settings → Account → Two-step verification. It's the most effective protection, and it takes two minutes.
3. Check Settings → Linked devices and log out anything you don't recognize.
4. Warn your contacts by SMS or phone call. The attacker often impersonates you to ask for money: a quick message protects them.

Avoid

• Don't click "recovery" links you receive by message: they're often a second scam attempt.
• Never share a 6-digit SMS code, even with someone who claims to be a friend.

Your mailbox gives access to many other accounts, so it's worth being methodical. But it's entirely fixable.

Do this, in order

1. Change the password from a safe device, for example your phone, rather than the computer you're suspicious of.
2. Turn on two-factor authentication, ideally with a dedicated app rather than SMS.
3. Check the auto-forwarding rules in your settings: some attackers create them to quietly keep reading your mail.
4. Review connected devices and apps and remove anything you don't recognize.
5. Then change the passwords of important accounts tied to that address, starting with your bank.

Avoid

• Avoid reusing a variation of the old password: a completely new one is far safer.

A clicking or scraping drive is wearing itself down. The good news: if you stop it right away, the data is very often recoverable.

Do this, in order

1. Turn the computer off right away, without waiting to make "one last backup". This is the move that saves your data.
2. Don't power the drive on again. Each restart can make the damage worse.
3. Write down what you heard (clicks, scraping, beeps): it helps a lot with the diagnosis.
4. Contact me or a properly equipped professional. Recovery from a damaged drive needs specific tools, but it succeeds very often.

Avoid

• No recovery software on a drive that makes noise: it forces reads and can make the data permanently unrecoverable.
• No freezer, despite what you may read online: moisture damages the inside of the drive.
• Don't open the drive: a single speck of dust is enough to ruin everything.

It happens to everyone, even IT people. What matters is what you do now.

Do this, in order

1. Entered a password? Change it right away on the real site, and everywhere you use the same one.
2. Entered banking details? Call your bank: block the card and check the recent transactions.
3. Downloaded or opened a file? Disconnect the computer from the internet until it can be checked.
4. Keep the fraudulent email or SMS: it's useful as evidence, especially for the bank.

The faster you act, the less time the attacker has to impersonate you with your contacts.

Do this, in order

1. Try "Forgot password" with your email or phone number: if the attacker hasn't changed the address yet, you're back in immediately.
2. If the account email was changed, use the official recovery flow: instagram.com/hacked or facebook.com/hacked. It's the only real channel.
3. Turn on two-factor authentication as soon as you're back in.
4. Check active sessions and connected apps in the security settings, and remove anything you don't recognize.
5. Warn your contacts through another channel: attackers often send scams in your name.

Avoid

• Never pay an "account recovery service" found online or in your DMs: they're almost always scams.
• Don't trust accounts offering help by DM right after the hack: it's often the attacker themselves.

A page that screams, beeps and shows a phone number is never a real Microsoft or Apple message. It's theatre, and your computer is most likely fine.

Do this, in order

1. Don't call the number on screen. Ever. That's the whole point of the scam.
2. Close the browser, force-quitting if needed (Ctrl+Alt+Del on Windows, Cmd+Option+Esc on Mac), then restart if the screen stays stuck.
3. If you did call and let someone take control of your computer: disconnect it from the internet, change your important passwords from another device, and call your bank if any payment was made.
4. Have the machine checked if anyone had access to it, even briefly.

Avoid

• Don't install any software dictated to you over the phone.
• Never give a card number or make a "verification" transfer: no real tech support asks for that.

A site you use got breached and your email or password is circulating. It's common, and very manageable if you deal with it right away.

Do this, in order

1. Change the password on the affected site.
2. Change it everywhere else you used the same one: that's exactly what attackers try first.
3. Turn on two-factor authentication on important accounts (email, bank, social media).
4. Switch to a password manager so every site gets a unique password: the next breach will only ever touch one site.
5. Watch out for targeted emails in the following weeks: scammers use breach data to look credible.

Avoid

• Don't think "that site had nothing important": the real danger is the reused password.