Signs Your Online Payment Account Has Been Hacked

The use of online payment accounts is widespread in this digital age. From shopping to bill payments, internet banking to business transactions, online payment accounts have become an integral part of the financial system. Individuals, organizations, and government institutions everyone is using online payment systems for financial transactions. Due to this fact, hackers are devising new tools and techniques to hack online payment accounts to steal amounts from them. They exploit system vulnerabilities, weak passwords, and unsafe browsing practices to compromise payment accounts and gain access to the funds in them.

online payment
If someone hacked your online payment account and makes any transaction through it, you will notice instant signals. For example, you may receive OTPs, alert notifications, and unauthorized transaction requests. If you receive security alerts, unknown OTP delivery, or notifications for login attempts to your online payment account, then don’t ignore them. These signs indicate someone is trying to access your online payment account for unauthorized transactions.

Top 7 Signs Your Payment Account Is Compromised

Hackers use a combination of malware and social engineering attacks to compromise your internet payment account. They use phishing, spyware, ransomware, and Trojan horses to get into your device and steal your account credentials. When hackers take over your account, the concerned payment platform sends you alerts and unknown transaction activities. Understanding these signs on time can help you prevent the loss down the line. So, below are some strong indicators that suggest something is fishy with your internet payment account.

1. Unauthorized Activity

Unrecognized transaction activities are clear warning signs that you must not ignore. These signs can include new transactions, money transfers, and online shopping payments, without your knowledge or approval. Things get clearer if you also receive notifications for these unauthorized attempts related to your account on your registered email, mobile number, and text messages. When you notice these signs, do not take them lightly. Dig in and find out about these activities. Monitor every activity, and call customer support to report the issue as soon as possible. Timely action can prevent the bigger financial loss down the line.

2. Unable to Log In

If someone takes over your account, the first thing they do is change the passwords. They try to lock you out and deny you access so that you do not take any action to prevent the theft. During such activities, you will get messages for incorrect passwords, password-reset notifications, and login requests from unknown devices from different locations. You may not be able to log in to your account because someone has already used the maximum login attempts. Go to your inbox and check for the password-reset email. If you find any such email, then it is confirmed that someone wants to steal your money by hacking your account.

3. Suspicious Messages

Hackers exploit messages and emails to send phishing links and clickbait to users. The texts contain deceptive language, urgent warnings, and attractive offers to convince and trick the user into clicking the links and sharing account credentials. If you follow the prompts and share your credentials, then hackers can use them to access your account and steal your money. In the wake of this event, you may start receiving unexpected OTPs, verification codes, or security alerts. These are all strong indications that suggest someone is trying to hack your online payment account. You must monitor all your online financial activities and secure your account.

4. Alert Notifications

When someone illegally accesses your account and makes any changes or modifications to it, you receive request notifications to approve the changes or complete the activities. These notifications may include warnings about login attempts, failed logins, push alerts, and text messages. These are red flags you should quickly act upon. Someone is trying to access your online payment gateway or has already entered it. When you encounter such signs, you should review these activities without delay. If you did not authorize these activities, then you should report them on the official support channel of the concerned platform.

5. Unfamiliar Devices

Most of the online payment gateways track login sessions and connected devices. They provide you with complete details of each session of your activities, and the devices you use to access the portal. You can go to the settings and check all the details. If someone got into your account, you can check all the activities and login sessions. If you find any suspicious activity, or an unknown log-in session or activities, someone is interfering with your account. In that case, take immediate action to log out of your payment account from all the other devices, and suspend all transactions to prevent theft. You must change the passwords and transfer pins to secure the access points.

6. Unintended Redirects

Automatic redirects to malicious and unknown online sites indicate security issues in your device. These redirects happen when your device is compromised or when hackers inject malware and phishing links into your files, data, and network traffic. Clicking suspicious links directs you to unsafe sites infected with malware. These malicious programs move into your device, steal sensitive data from it that can include passwords and account credentials. It poses a great security risk to your internet banking apps. These things are intended to hack your important accounts, and specifically, online payment accounts.

7. New Apps and Software

Sometimes, unwanted apps can enter your system bundled with other apps. They can be hijackers or malware that hackers use to compromise device security and personal information. These malicious apps further install keyloggers, ransomware, and other harmful programs to track online activities and steal confidential data like account credentials. They can hijack your login sessions and steal all your sensitive data, including financial details. Hackers can use these details to hack your payment account. These things are interrelated. If you see unknown withdrawals and login attempts, then it is highly likely that scammers are trying to do something nasty to your payment portal.

What to do if Your Online Payment Account is Hacked?

If your online payment account is hacked, then it is time to take immediate action and prevent potential damage down the line. In this situation, the more quickly you act to address online security, the better your chances of safeguarding your money. If you find yourself ever in this situation, then here are some tips that will help you handle the situation effectively.
account hacked prevention

Freeze Your Financial Account

If you sense even a whiff of suspicious activity, don’t even take a minute to freeze your online payments and transactions. Lock up your wallet and deactivate your credit and debit card as soon as possible. With this configuration in force, hackers won’t be able to make any money transfers or apply for a loan in your name. Meanwhile, you will have some time to report the issue to the relevant authorities and take further action to recover your compromised account.

Disconnect from the Internet

If you are under cyberattack, turn off the internet on devices you are using for the online payment gateway. It can stop the cyberattack from spreading to your devices and block access to the main database and critical online platforms. As a result, your personal information and account credentials will be secure from hackers. Without the internet, malware cannot communicate from an outside server to share the banking details that make you vulnerable to information theft.

Run In-Depth Virus Scan

Activate your antivirus software and run an in-depth virus scan to remove deep-seated malware in the deeply located elements of your PC. In-depth scans analyze each and every part of your PC and catch deep-seated malware infections. It sandboxes the infected file and eliminates the virus with accuracy. It keeps your system clean, secure, and out of danger. Along with this, if there is a fake app or Trojan horse on your computer, you can easily detect it and get rid of it using antivirus software.

Consider a Factory Reset of Your Device

After running a deep system scan with the help of an antivirus, if your system keeps behaving in a strange way, you can consider a factory reset. A factory reset will delete all the data and apps in your device, and along with it, the malicious program hiding inside it will also go. But you should use this method only in a situation where you have a backup of all your data on some outside device.

Recover Your Account

Go to the official site for your bank account or connect to a customer care representative. Relate your issue and ask for help to recover your account. Every bank provides recovery steps to help its clients deal with issues like hacked accounts, stolen cards, and compromised details. By using these security options, you can easily recover your hacked account. In this whole process, you have to be quick to reach the support and implement all the security measures.

Fortify Your Passwords

This is the time to go big on password strength. Don’t just rehash old ones—come up with fresh, unique passwords using a blend of letters, numbers, and symbols. If that sounds like too much to juggle, use a password manager to keep them organized and secure.

Inform Your Friends and Family

Hackers can reach your friends and family using your contacts on your device to further spread the virus to other devices. You must inform your friends and family members about your situation and alert them about potential dangers. Tell them not to make any money transfers to you, as your account is already hacked. If they send any money to you, likely, the cybercriminals will also get that money.

Report the Incident

Report the situation to the relevant authorities to track the anomaly and provide security to your financial assets. You can contact the cybercrime prevention authorities in your state and ask them to simplify the process to deal with the issue.

How to Protect Your Payment Account From Hacking?

Protecting your payment account can be challenging in this age of cyber attacks. Cybercriminals use advanced malware to target users for hacking. However, using smart tips and safety practices, you can easily safeguard your online payment accounts. For your convenience, we offer some tips that help you deal with the issue appropriately. They are as follows:

Use Strong Passwords

The first step you have to take to secure your online financial portals is to create strong passwords. Use a long password that has a combination of letters, numbers, unique characters, and symbols. Do not use your name, home address, or 123456789 as your access keys. They are easily guessable, and hackers using complex malware programs can easily find them. So avoid this practice and create unique and complex passwords.

Activate Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

2FA provides an extra layer of security to your critical accounts and access points that include OTP, email confirmation, and calls. If someone has your password and User ID, they still cannot access the main account because of two-factor authentication. You can also utilize Google authentication to approve login to your critical accounts. So, make sure to activate Two-Factor Authentication to secure your account.

Look for Phishing Scams

You must watch out for phishing and suspicious links attached to emails, chats, and request notifications. Even when you are visiting a website, make sure it is secure and has an HTTPS with a padlock at the start of its URL. It will protect you from phishing scams and unseen dangers. S in HTTPS stands for security, and a padlock is used for encryption data protocols. These links are safe and secure to visit and browse the internet.

Avoid Public Wi-Fi

Do not use Public WiFi to do any type of financial transaction or log in to an online payment account. These networks are the best spots for the black hats to infect a device with malware. They target vulnerable devices to infiltrate malware in them and steal sensitive data. Avoiding these free-to-use internet networks will help you protect your data and financial details.

Monitor Your Accounts Regularly

It is highly essential to monitor your account at regular intervals to look out for unauthorized transactions and modifications. It will keep you informed about all the activities and changes in your system. If there is anything wrong, you can take timely action to minimize the damage and control the worsening situation.

Set Up Account Alerts

You must set up alerts for transactions, logins, and changes in settings. This will give you instant alerts about all activities and online money transfers. In case of any suspicious or malicious activity, you can take immediate action and protect your account.

Use Antivirus

It is highly recommended that you install smart antivirus software on your digital device to protect it from online malware attacks and infections. It scans your device to detect virus presence and takes appropriate action to keep your PC clean of all the lurking threats. You will get complete browser security and protection from keyloggers, ransomware, spyware, and phishing links. Due to this, you will remain safe from all types of malicious programs that pose a security threat to your data and monetary gateways.
360 Antivirus Pro