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The first 30 minutes matter

Your WhatsApp was hacked. Let us stop the damage.

Breathe: this is not your fault. Pick your case and we give you the exact steps, in order, right here.

What is happening to you?

Tap the one closest to your case. If you get it wrong, you can change any time.

I lost cell signal The phone says "Emergency calls only" and I cannot call or receive SMS. I woke up without WhatsApp I have signal, but my account came up on another phone overnight. I gave away the 6-digit code Someone I trusted asked me for it. I scanned a suspicious QR code It arrived by message or I saw it in a post. I do not know what happened / I am being extorted My contacts say I am asking them for money, but I still have signal.

Your case

You lost cell signal

Your line died all at once and is not coming back. Most likely someone asked your carrier for a duplicate of your SIM so they could receive your SMS: with that they get into your WhatsApp and your online banking.

The first minutes matter. While the duplicate stays active, that person receives every verification code you are sent. Do not restart the phone and do not move the SIM: it fixes nothing and costs you time.

  1. Block the SIM

    Call from another phone — yours has no service — and read this exactly:

    My number was stolen. I want my SIM blocked and no duplicate or port-out authorised in my name.

    Customer service lines

    Telcel 800 710 5687 AT&T 800 101 0288 Movistar 800 888 8366 Bait 800 288 2248

    Telcel answers by region: the button dials CDMX, Estado de México, Morelos e Hidalgo. The rest are under "See every number".

    The 800 number does not work from your own phone: "emergency calls only" means your line is not registered on the network, and an 800 call is a normal call, not an emergency one. Call from a landline or from someone else phone, and have your IMEI ready (dial *#06# to see it): the carrier blocks the handset too, not just the line.

    See every number

    Telcel · pick your region

    800 710 5687 CDMX, Estado de México, Morelos e Hidalgo 800 026 6845 Baja California, Baja California Sur y San Luis Río Colorado 800 890 3765 Sonora y Sinaloa 800 012 5193 Chihuahua, Durango y norte de Coahuila 800 836 6800 Coahuila, Nuevo León y Tamaulipas 800 363 0800 Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima y Michoacán 800 890 4050 Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Guanajuato y Querétaro 800 890 5198 Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Oaxaca y Guerrero 800 823 2686 Chiapas, Tabasco, Yucatán, Campeche y Quintana Roo

    From a Telcel line you can also use *111 (plan de renta) o *264 (Amigo). Official Telcel help

    AT&T

    800 101 0288

    From a AT&T line you can also use *611. Official AT&T help

    Movistar

    800 888 8366

    From a Movistar line you can also use *611. Official Movistar help

    Bait

    800 288 2248 961 628 6207

    From a Bait line you can also use *282. Official Bait help

    If your carrier is not on the list (Unefon, Virgin, Pillofon, Flash Mobile and others), search for "customer service" with your carrier name and call from another phone.

  2. Get your number and your account back

    • Ask your carrier for a new SIM with the same number and activate it. Until that happens, WhatsApp cannot give you anything back.
    • Open WhatsApp and check Linked devices: on Android it is in the three-dot menu, on iPhone in Settings. Log out of any session you do not recognise.
    • Turn on two-step verification with a password you do not use anywhere else. Without it, nobody can register your number again.
    • Change your online banking password. If your bank sends codes by SMS, that was the next step of the attack.
    • Ask them to keep port-out blocked in your name for a few days.
    See where Linked devices is

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Linked devices.
    2. 2 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    3. 3 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Linked devices.
    3. 3 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    4. 4 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    See how to turn on two-step verification

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Settings.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    If the other person turned on two-step verification, your registration will be blocked. WhatsApp will make you wait seven days before it lets you reset it, and there is no way to speed that up. It is their security protocol: try again on day seven, not before.

    Download official WhatsApp

  3. Warn your contacts

    The fraud almost always starts by asking three or four people you trust for money. Copy this warning and send it by SMS, another app or a call: let them know before anyone pays.

    URGENT: My WhatsApp account was stolen and someone is asking for money in my name. IT IS NOT ME. Do not transfer money, do not open links that come from my account, and do not reply to those messages.

  4. If you cannot get it back

    Reporting the account you are trying to recover can backfire. WhatsApp warns about it in its own help centre: if you report it, they may block it for breaking their terms and you can lose access to your chats. Try to recover it first, and use these channels only if you can no longer get in.

    The fastest route

    • Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to Settings → Help and feedback → Contact us. That chat does reach support and stays linked to your number.
    • If you cannot open the app because the account is no longer yours, use the form on the button: it is the other channel WhatsApp recognises as official.
    Open the official WhatsApp form

    The form opens in your browser and asks for your number, an email address and what happened. Write from an email account you can open today.

    The email to "support@whatsapp.com" does not work

    Nobody reads that mailbox. WhatsApp denied it in its own help centre: emails sent to any @whatsapp.com address get no reply. If you saw it on another blog, in a video, or an official body gave it to you, that information is out of date.

    Read WhatsApp official note

    You have done what can be done today. What is left does not depend on you: it depends on your carrier and on WhatsApp. Save this page and come back if anything changes.

Your case

You woke up without WhatsApp

Your account came up on another phone overnight and it was not you. The verification code did not arrive by message: it arrived by voice call and landed in your voicemail, which is a diversion almost every line ships with turned on.

Voicemail is the door that was left open. While it stays active, anyone who calls your number can hear the code WhatsApp sends you. Close it before you try to claim the account back.

  1. Cut the diversion to voicemail

    Dial this code from your phone and press call. It erases every call diversion, which is what makes the WhatsApp code end up in voicemail. It is free and takes five seconds.

    Cut the diversions now ##002#

    This cuts the diversion, it does not cancel voicemail. The code is the GSM standard for erasing all call forwarding and in practice it stops the code landing there, but no Mexican carrier publishes it and the company can turn it back on. To actually cancel voicemail you have to ask the carrier: Telcel on *111 or *264, AT&T and Movistar on *611, or from your carrier app.

    And if your voicemail still has the factory PIN (0000 or 1234), change it: that is the second way in.

  2. Get your code by SMS

    • Reinstall WhatsApp and register your number again. That registration is what expels the intruder: WhatsApp closes every open session as soon as you get in with the code.
    • Ask for the code and choose by message, not by call. That way it no longer goes through voicemail.
    • If it asks for a two-step verification you never set up, read the warning below before going on.
    • Once you are in, turn on your own two-step verification and close the sessions under Linked devices.
    See where Linked devices is

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Linked devices.
    2. 2 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    3. 3 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Linked devices.
    3. 3 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    4. 4 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    See how to turn on two-step verification

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Settings.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    Without an active SIM with your same number there is no recovery. WhatsApp says it plainly: it cannot hand an account back to someone who cannot receive the code. Get the SIM first; the rest unlocks from there.

    If the other person turned on two-step verification, your registration will be blocked. WhatsApp will make you wait seven days before it lets you reset it, and there is no way to speed that up. It is their security protocol: try again on day seven, not before.

    Download official WhatsApp

  3. Warn your contacts

    The fraud almost always starts by asking three or four people you trust for money. Copy this warning and send it by SMS, another app or a call: let them know before anyone pays.

    URGENT: My WhatsApp account was stolen and someone is asking for money in my name. IT IS NOT ME. Do not transfer money, do not open links that come from my account, and do not reply to those messages.

  4. If you cannot get it back

    Reporting the account you are trying to recover can backfire. WhatsApp warns about it in its own help centre: if you report it, they may block it for breaking their terms and you can lose access to your chats. Try to recover it first, and use these channels only if you can no longer get in.

    The fastest route

    • Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to Settings → Help and feedback → Contact us. That chat does reach support and stays linked to your number.
    • If you cannot open the app because the account is no longer yours, use the form on the button: it is the other channel WhatsApp recognises as official.
    Open the official WhatsApp form

    The form opens in your browser and asks for your number, an email address and what happened. Write from an email account you can open today.

    The email to "support@whatsapp.com" does not work

    Nobody reads that mailbox. WhatsApp denied it in its own help centre: emails sent to any @whatsapp.com address get no reply. If you saw it on another blog, in a video, or an official body gave it to you, that information is out of date.

    Read WhatsApp official note

    You have done what can be done today. What is left does not depend on you: it depends on your carrier and on WhatsApp. Save this page and come back if anything changes.

Your case

You gave away the 6-digit code

With that code the other person has already registered your WhatsApp on their phone. It is single-use, so the damage is done: now you have to get them out and warn your people before they start asking for money in your name.

Your people matter more than your account right now. The fraud almost always starts by borrowing money from three or four contacts you trust. Warning them takes one tap.

  1. Warn them before fixing anything

    The fraud almost always starts by asking three or four people you trust for money. Copy this warning and send it by SMS, another app or a call: let them know before anyone pays.

    URGENT: My WhatsApp account was stolen and someone is asking for money in my name. IT IS NOT ME. Do not transfer money, do not open links that come from my account, and do not reply to those messages.

  2. Get the account back

    • Reinstall WhatsApp and register your number. That registration expels the intruder: once you are in with the code, WhatsApp closes every other session.
    • If the number is still taken or the account shows as deactivated, open official support from the block below.
    • Once you are in, turn on two-step verification and add a recovery email: without that email, forgetting your password means waiting seven days.
    • Check Linked devices and log out of anything you do not recognise.
    • If a contact did transfer money, tell them to file the report with their bank today and to keep the screenshots.
    See where Linked devices is

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Linked devices.
    2. 2 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    3. 3 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Linked devices.
    3. 3 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    4. 4 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    See how to turn on two-step verification

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Settings.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    Without an active SIM with your same number there is no recovery. WhatsApp says it plainly: it cannot hand an account back to someone who cannot receive the code. Get the SIM first; the rest unlocks from there.

    If the other person turned on two-step verification, your registration will be blocked. WhatsApp will make you wait seven days before it lets you reset it, and there is no way to speed that up. It is their security protocol: try again on day seven, not before.

    Download official WhatsApp

  3. If you cannot get it back

    Reporting the account you are trying to recover can backfire. WhatsApp warns about it in its own help centre: if you report it, they may block it for breaking their terms and you can lose access to your chats. Try to recover it first, and use these channels only if you can no longer get in.

    The fastest route

    • Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to Settings → Help and feedback → Contact us. That chat does reach support and stays linked to your number.
    • If you cannot open the app because the account is no longer yours, use the form on the button: it is the other channel WhatsApp recognises as official.
    Open the official WhatsApp form

    The form opens in your browser and asks for your number, an email address and what happened. Write from an email account you can open today.

    The email to "support@whatsapp.com" does not work

    Nobody reads that mailbox. WhatsApp denied it in its own help centre: emails sent to any @whatsapp.com address get no reply. If you saw it on another blog, in a video, or an official body gave it to you, that information is out of date.

    Read WhatsApp official note

    You have done what can be done today. What is left does not depend on you: it depends on your carrier and on WhatsApp. Save this page and come back if anything changes.

Your case

You scanned a QR code you should not have

That QR was not a menu and not a prize: it was the WhatsApp Web screen. Scanning it authorised your account on someone else phone, and from there they can read and write everything of yours.

The session stays open until you close it. Changing your password does nothing here: WhatsApp does not use a password. What cuts the access is logging out the linked device.

  1. Log out the other session

    • Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to Linked devices: on Android it is in the three-dot menu above the chat list; on iPhone, in Settings.
    • Log out of every device you do not recognise. If in doubt, log out of all of them: you lose nothing, your phone stays connected.
    • Turn on two-step verification. With that password, a new QR is no longer enough to get in.
    • Check your profile photo, your name and your groups: it is common for them to change something in order to commit fraud as you.
    • If money was moved or loans were requested in your name, report it to your bank today.
    See where Linked devices is

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Linked devices.
    2. 2 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    3. 3 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Linked devices.
    3. 3 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    4. 4 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    See how to turn on two-step verification

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Settings.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Account.
    3. 3 Tap Two-step verification.
    4. 4 Tap Turn on, create a 6-digit PIN you do not use anywhere else and add your email when asked.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    Logging out on your phone does not close linked sessions. WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop stay connected for up to 14 days afterwards. They have to be logged out one by one from Linked devices.

  2. Warn your contacts

    The fraud almost always starts by asking three or four people you trust for money. Copy this warning and send it by SMS, another app or a call: let them know before anyone pays.

    URGENT: My WhatsApp account was stolen and someone is asking for money in my name. IT IS NOT ME. Do not transfer money, do not open links that come from my account, and do not reply to those messages.

    You have done what can be done today. What is left does not depend on you: it depends on your carrier and on WhatsApp. Save this page and come back if anything changes.

Rule for next time: WhatsApp never asks you to scan QR codes that arrive by message, email or social posts. A WhatsApp QR is only ever scanned from your own Linked devices screen.

Official WhatsApp help

Your case

Someone else is using your account

Your line works and your chats are still on your phone, so they did not take it: they are using it from somewhere else. WhatsApp only allows that in two ways —a linked session you authorised without realising, or your number registered on another phone— and the steps below cover both.

Someone is writing in your name right now. If they have already asked one of your people for money, that is the damage in a hurry: it is lost in minutes and it is paid by people who trust you. Start by warning them.

  1. Warn your contacts

    The fraud almost always starts by asking three or four people you trust for money. Copy this warning and send it by SMS, another app or a call: let them know before anyone pays.

    If someone is asking you for money to give the account back, do not pay. They do not have it held hostage: they are using it. Paying does not return it, it confirms you answer, and it almost always brings a second demand.

    URGENT: My WhatsApp account was stolen and someone is asking for money in my name. IT IS NOT ME. Do not transfer money, do not open links that come from my account, and do not reply to those messages.

  2. Log out the session you do not recognise

    Everything with your account open is listed here, with its phone and its last connection. This is where the intruder lives if they came in through a QR code or a link:

    • Open WhatsApp and go to Linked devices: on Android it is in the three-dot menu above the chat list; on iPhone, in Settings. If there is a session you do not recognise —a computer that is not yours, a city that is not yours— that is the door they are coming through.
    • Before you close anything, check the last connection of each one and take a screenshot: that is the proof of time and place you will be asked for if you file a report.
    • Now log them out one by one, and if in doubt log out of all of them: you lose nothing, your phone stays connected and it is the only device that does not depend on a linked session.
    • While you are there, check your profile photo, your name and your status. It is common for them to change something so the fraud in your name looks more believable.
    See where Linked devices is

    Android

    1. 1 In the chat list, tap the three dots at the top, then Linked devices.
    2. 2 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    3. 3 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    iPhone

    1. 1 Tap Settings, bottom right in the tab bar.
    2. 2 Tap Linked devices.
    3. 3 Look at the list and tap every session you do not recognise.
    4. 4 Tap Log out. Repeat for each one until only yours are left.

    Illustration. Depending on your WhatsApp version the screen may look slightly different, but the option names are the same.

    Logging out on your phone does not close linked sessions. WhatsApp Web and WhatsApp Desktop stay connected for up to 14 days afterwards. They have to be logged out one by one from Linked devices.

  3. Get your code by SMS

    Logging the session out cuts that device off, but if your number ended up registered on another phone it has to be registered again. That registration is what expels the intruder:

    • Reinstall WhatsApp and register your number again. That registration expels the intruder: as soon as you are in with the code, WhatsApp closes every other session.
    • Ask for the code and choose by message, not by call. If it arrives by call, anyone with your voicemail can hear it.
    • Once you are in, turn on your own two-step verification with a password you do not use anywhere else, and add a recovery email.
    • Go back to Linked devices and confirm the list is down to your own. If anything is still there, log it out again.

    If the other person turned on two-step verification, your registration will be blocked. WhatsApp will make you wait seven days before it lets you reset it, and there is no way to speed that up. It is their security protocol: try again on day seven, not before.

    Download official WhatsApp

  4. If you cannot get it back

    Reporting the account you are trying to recover can backfire. WhatsApp warns about it in its own help centre: if you report it, they may block it for breaking their terms and you can lose access to your chats. Try to recover it first, and use these channels only if you can no longer get in.

    The fastest route

    • Open WhatsApp on your phone and go to Settings → Help and feedback → Contact us. That chat does reach support and stays linked to your number.
    • If you cannot open the app because the account is no longer yours, use the form on the button: it is the other channel WhatsApp recognises as official.
    Open the official WhatsApp form

    The form opens in your browser and asks for your number, an email address and what happened. Write from an email account you can open today.

    The email to "support@whatsapp.com" does not work

    Nobody reads that mailbox. WhatsApp denied it in its own help centre: emails sent to any @whatsapp.com address get no reply. If you saw it on another blog, in a video, or an official body gave it to you, that information is out of date.

    Read WhatsApp official note

    You have done what can be done today. What is left does not depend on you: it depends on your carrier and on WhatsApp. Save this page and come back if anything changes.