I was hacked and tracked

[maliyanjourney]

Contrary to a recent post i just read 'I've been hacked' alluding to the fact people are just paranoid, I was recently overseas and had an ex-partner reporting to me my daily movements, the people I met, places I went. Later the ex began sending photos of me taken by people she claims to have paid to use spyware on my phone. Apparently in that country it is cheap to pay someone to install spyware on phones (I'm told local mafia have experts). In my case, it is possible someone had direct access as the phone went into a repair shop for a few hours to have screen glass replaced.. Not certain but possible. Long story short, I was physically tracked to public venues, photographed and there was no way possible I was 'tailed' to the venues in a traditional sense due to my mode of transport. I did a complete factory data reset. Changed all account passwords. After which I was still miraculously tracked and recorded. All antiviral programs paid or otherwise detected nothing. How can this have been the case, how can I ensure this discontinues and how can I ensure this a) does not continue or b) occur again.

Samsung s10

 

[mustang7757]

Hi, we are not hacker experts here , probably talking to proper authorities get information from them see how should handle this , normal things we can recommend is changing passwords, factory reset, or getting different number or phone as last resort would be recommend , other then that nothing much we can help with on this type of situation.

 

[maliyanjourney]

All and any info welcome. Thanks. Out of interest, how does new number help?

 

[mustang7757]

All and any info welcome. Thanks. Out of interest, how does new number help?

Here's a link talking about that

https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/25/cybersecurity-101-guide-protect-phone-number/

 

[B. Diddy]

It's also worth filing a report here: https://www.ic3.gov/

 

[maliyanjourney]

Presumably US only

 

[B. Diddy]

What country are you from? Even if this started abroad, it may still be helpful to file the report (if you're a US citizen).

 

[Mike Dee]

Phones can be tracked without being hacked if you know the right people a variety of different ways including simply knowing your phone number.

 

[maliyanjourney]

Hmm yes that's the answer i was given in SE Asia. Personally, if there are ways to track i just want to learn as much as i can to avoid as much as possible in future

 

[B. Diddy]

Some suggestions:

1. As already mentioned, get a new phone number through your carrier.

2. Avoid oversharing your life on social media -- it can be easy for people to know where you are, who you're with, and what you're doing up to the minute if you post a lot.

3. Be careful with using any public wi-fi network. Use a good reputable VPN (like NordVPN -- avoid the free ones) if you have to connect to public wi-fi (and even on your own mobile data if you want to increase your security).

4. Never share your account information with anyone.

5. Use 2-factor authentication whenever you can, but avoid using an SMS 2nd factor, since that can be intercepted. It's best to use an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy, if the account supports it.

6. Avoid creating passwords that are easily guessable. If you're bad at remembering passwords, use a good password manager like LastPass (which can generate and remember complex passwords for you) -- you just need to remember your master password, which should still be complex and impossible to guess, but at least you only have to remember one.

7. Only install apps from a reliable source like the Play Store. Even so, nasty apps can pop up there, but they're usually easy to spot. Make sure to read the reviews, and get used to identifying obviously fake reviews (which are typically overly effusive and glowing, with few details). An app with a lot of these kinds of reviews should be avoided.

8. Never tap on any browser popups, especially if they give you dire warnings that your phone is in danger. These are virtually always scams, trying to lure you into installing a malicious app.

 

[maliyanjourney]

What country are you from? Even if this started abroad, it may still be helpful to file the report (if you're a US citizen).

Unfortunately not US citizen but good to know for friends

 

[B. Diddy]

Well then, do a search for your own government's cybercrime agency (hopefully one exists) and see how to report it to them.

 

[methodman89]

A Faraday pouch is able to accomplish what you want. But you won't get msg or calls while it's in there. Good luck.

 

[maliyanjourney]

Some suggestions:

1. As already mentioned, get a new phone number through your carrier.

2. Avoid oversharing your life on social media -- it can be easy for people to know where you are, who you're with, and what you're doing up to the minute if you post a lot.

3. Be careful with using any public wi-fi network. Use a good reputable VPN (like NordVPN -- avoid the free ones) if you have to connect to public wi-fi (and even on your own mobile data if you want to increase your security).

4. Never share your account information with anyone.

5. Use 2-factor authentication whenever you can, but avoid using an SMS 2nd factor, since that can be intercepted. It's best to use an authenticator app like Google Authenticator or Authy, if the account supports it.

6. Avoid creating passwords that are easily guessable. If you're bad at remembering passwords, use a good password manager like LastPass (which can generate and remember complex passwords for you) -- you just need to remember your master password, which should still be complex and impossible to guess, but at least you only have to remember one.

7. Only install apps from a reliable source like the Play Store. Even so, nasty apps can pop up there, but they're usually easy to spot. Make sure to read the reviews, and get used to identifying obviously fake reviews (which are typically overly effusive and glowing, with few details). An app with a lot of these kinds of reviews should be avoided.

8. Never tap on any browser popups, especially if they give you dire warnings that your phone is in danger. These are virtually always scams, trying to lure you into installing a malicious app.

I tick lost of those boxes, except the 2 factor authentication and phone. I'll be sure to employ both, but really not sure how they got through this time

 

[maliyanjourney]

Well then, do a search for your own government's cybercrime agency (hopefully one exists) and see how to report it to them.

I started filling in the local country report online but it stopped me when i got to the question 'is the perp a partner, ex-partner or is there a court order against the perp'. Well, it's an ex... Cyber crime agency no longer wants to touch it lol!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, that's tough. You've already talked to your local law enforcement?

 

[Rukbat]

Have the ROM reflashed*. Don't back anything up before you do, any app, picture, anything may be involved. The new ROM will wipe out anything currently in the phone. (I suspect that someone put some spyware into the phone as a system app, so it won't be detected by anything and can't be removed without rooting.)

*(You can actually do it yourself, it's easy on a Samsung. See [Samsung] How to flash Stock ROM via ODIN.)