Account takeover: taking back control

Signs someone else is in your account

You may notice a login alert from a device you do not recognise, a password reset you never requested, or messages sent that you did not write. Sometimes the first sign is simpler: you are locked out of your own account.

Money moving without your action is the clearest signal, but access can exist for a while before anything is taken. Treat any of these signs as active, not as something to watch and wait on.

Check email first, since a compromised email is often used to reach and reset everything else.

How this usually happens

Access is often gained through a phishing page that captured a password, or through a SIM swap that let someone receive your one-time passwords on their own phone. Sometimes it follows a malicious app installed on the device itself.

Whichever route it took, the result is the same: someone else can now act as you inside systems that assume the account holder is the only one there.

Knowing the route matters less right now than closing it, though it does help explain what to check next.

You will not be blamed for reporting it

A common fear is that reporting this will make a bank or the police think you were careless, so people delay while they decide how to explain it. That delay is the one thing that works against you.

Banks and the police handle account takeover regularly, and the pattern is well understood on their side. A fast, clear report is treated as exactly what it is: you reporting a crime committed against you.

There is no version of this where staying quiet protects you better than acting does.

Containing the damage

Change your email password first, from a device you trust, then work through every account linked to that email. Turn on two-factor authentication wherever you can, which closes the door even if a password is known.

Contact your bank directly to freeze or secure the account, and ask them to check for any changes to your registered phone number or address.

If your phone itself may be compromised, treat it separately and check what an APK malware scam leaves behind before you trust the device again.

Disputing what was taken

Once access is contained, focus on the transactions themselves. Read how a bank recall works if money moved by transfer, or ask about a card chargeback if a card was used.

Making a police report creates an official record that supports both routes, and it is worth doing even while the bank’s own process is still running.

Keep a simple timeline of what you noticed and when, since that record makes every step after this one faster.