If You are Hacked, Never Hire a Hacker or Pay Any Ransom

If you are hacked and post a cry for help on your social media profiles, you might get bombarded with multiple suggestions on whom to contact and hire to get help. In 9 out of 10 cases, these people are trying to scam you for money. Once you have paid them, they will likely disappear or request additional money to help you.

If you need help recovering any hacked accounts, you should never hire someone who claims they can “hack it back” or says they are hackers themselves. This does not work.

You should avoid the following:

• Anyone that claims they are a hacker
• Anyone that claims they can hack your account back
• Anyone that is not an employee of a serious company
• Anyone that does not show their face and voice
• Anyone that does not show you their real name
• Anyone that must be paid in bitcoin or through various shady money platforms
• Anyone that does not have a legit address
• Anyone that does not have a legit website
• Anyone that does not have personal social media accounts

Here are some examples that we have seen recently that you should avoid:

What about paying a ransom to the hacker?

If you have been hacked, and the hacker asks you to pay a ransom to get it back, don’t. In 99% of the cases we have dealt with, doing so will lead to two things:

1. The hacker might demand more money, and you’ll become a high-value target for other hackers.
2. The hacker will take your money and block you from contacting them again.

No evidence can support anyone paying a ransom to a hacker. Lastly, by paying the ransom, you help the hacker to fund his/her operation and are indirectly responsible for new attacks and hacker victims. Please do not consider paying any form of ransom.

Featured image by Brazhyk from Shutterstock.com