If a stranger took over one of your accounts, you can usually get it back, and these guides show you exactly what to do and what to tap, one calm step at a time.
Each one is free, written in plain language, and built entirely from the platform's own official recovery instructions.
Pick the account that was hit:
Pick your guide
- Google account recovery (Google & Gmail) walks Google's identity-challenge recovery at g.co/recover, get back in even after a changed recovery email or phone, clear rogue Gmail filters and forwarding, and lock it down.
- Microsoft account recovery (Outlook & Hotmail) covers the password reset and the ACSR recovery form, understand the honest dead-end when recovery says the account doesn't exist, and limit the damage if it can't be undone.
- Amazon account recovery covers resetting your password, spot fake "Amazon support" scams, undo unauthorized orders and charges, and lock the account down with two-step verification.
- Apple account recovery (Apple ID & iCloud) covers changing your password or using Apple's Account Recovery, handle a changed trusted phone or recovery key, undo charges, and clear Find My / Screen Time locks.
- Meta account recovery (Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp) walks facebook.com/hacked and instagram.com/hacked, re-registering WhatsApp, get past a changed email or a stranger's two-step PIN, and save proof before you clean up.
Not sure which applies?
The signs of a real account takeover are similar everywhere:
- your password suddenly stops working
- you get a notice about a change you didn't make
- a login code arrives that you didn't ask for
- or you see posts, orders, or messages you didn't create
Whatever the platform, the first moves are the same. Lock down the email the account uses, change the password from a device you trust, and sign out every other session, then follow the guide for your specific account above.
When to get professional help
Most people can recover an account on their own with the steps above.
But if the break-in goes deeper than a single login, so that recovery keeps failing, you've lost every way to prove it's you, money is missing, or the takeover looks like part of a bigger fraud, a forensic investigation can find how the attacker got in, evict them for good, and produce documentation you can use with banks, insurers, or law enforcement:
- Account compromise recovery service is forensic recovery for a hacked email, social, or financial account.
- Identity theft investigation is for when stolen data starts showing up in new accounts opened in your name.
- SIM swap attack recovery is for when your phone number was hijacked to intercept your login codes.
