If your WhatsApp account has been hacked, act in this order: recover the account or lock it, warn your contacts, check linked devices, then file a complaint with WhatsApp, the police and the cybercrime portal. Preserve the OTP messages and screenshots before you change anything, because they are your evidence.
When this matters
This applies when you can no longer log in because the verification code goes to someone else, when your account shows a device you do not own, when your contacts receive messages or payment requests that you did not send, or when you are suddenly logged out and asked to re-register. It also applies to a hacked business account used to run a shop, and to a SIM swap in which your number was moved to another handset without your knowledge.
First steps: take control of the account
- Try to log back in with your number and request the verification code. If you can still receive the SMS, register again and, inside the app, log out all other devices.
- If you cannot receive the SMS, contact your mobile operator at once and ask whether a duplicate SIM was issued, and block the SIM if the answer is yes.
- In WhatsApp, open Linked Devices and log out every device you do not recognise. A linked device lets the other person read and send messages without the OTP.
- Turn on Two-Step Verification and set a six-digit PIN with a recovery email. This stops a future re-registration on a new handset without the PIN.
- Change your email password and any password you reused elsewhere, and turn on two-factor authentication on the email. The email is the master key to account recovery.
Warn your contacts
Use another channel, such as a phone call, an SMS from a family member's number, or a post on a separate platform, to tell your contacts that your account was compromised. Ask them not to send money or share details on the strength of any message from your number. A hacked number is often used to ask friends and relatives for an urgent transfer, sometimes pretending to be you in a family emergency.
The complaint to the platform
Report the account to WhatsApp from inside the app under Settings > Help > Contact us, giving the number and the timeframe. Write to the platform's grievance officer as well: the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 require a grievance officer in India with a published contact. If the account is a business profile with a payment or catalogue, also inform the linked payment provider. Keep the reference numbers from every report.
The police complaint and what to attach
File an FIR under Section 173 BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 154 CrPC) at the local police station or the cyber cell, or a written complaint if the facts are not yet clear. Where money was taken, report at once on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and on the 1930 helpline, so that the beneficiary account can be flagged. If the police do not register your complaint, you can apply under Section 175(3) BNSS 2023 (formerly Section 156(3) CrPC) for a direction to investigate. Our cyber law practice files both the police complaint and the follow-up application.
Offences that may apply
- Identity theft, Section 66C of the Information Technology Act 2000, where your number and credentials are used as your identity.
- Cheating by personation using a computer resource, Section 66D of the IT Act 2000.
- Unauthorised access and computer-related offences, Sections 43 and 66 of the IT Act 2000.
- Cheating, Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (formerly Sections 415 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code 1860), where money is induced.
- Cheating by personation, Section 319 BNS 2023 (formerly Sections 416 and 419 IPC).
- Criminal intimidation, Section 351 BNS 2023 (formerly Sections 503 and 506 IPC), where messages threaten your contacts.
Where the same fraud drains money, the matter is treated as cyber fraud as well, and the financial trail matters as much as the account trail.
Evidence to preserve
- Screenshots of the login alerts, the linked devices screen and the moment the account stopped working, with dates visible.
- The OTP messages you did receive, kept on the handset and photographed, with the sender name and time.
- Your mobile number, the network operator and the timeframe during which the account was out of your control.
- Messages the intruder sent from your account to your contacts, as reported to you and screenshotted by them.
- Any UPI, bank or card records for payments made from your account or on its strength.
- The reference numbers from your reports to WhatsApp, the operator, the bank and the police.
Timelines and common mistakes
- Do not delete the account in frustration; deletion destroys the history you need.
- Do not share a new OTP or PIN with anyone who calls claiming to be WhatsApp support or a bank officer.
- Report the financial loss on the 1930 helpline as soon as you know, because the speed of the report affects whether the beneficiary account can be blocked.
- Take the screenshots first, then start changing settings.
Where the account was used to defraud your contacts or move money, the criminal complaint and the bank dispute should move together, because the beneficiary account is the only thing that can still be stopped. If the intruder is still active, contact the office the same day so the notice to the platform and the police complaint are filed without delay.
Common questions
Can I get my old chats back after a hack?
Only if you had a backed-up copy in Google Drive, iCloud or your phone's local backup. Once the account is re-registered and restored from a backup, older chats come back from that backup. Chats sent while the intruder held the account can rarely be recovered.
Will the police register an FIR for a hacked WhatsApp account?
They should, because identity theft and cheating by personation are serious offences, but many stations treat a hacked account as a technical matter. A written complaint with the evidence, filed at the cyber cell or through the portal, is usually the fastest route, and a Section 175(3) BNSS application follows if the police do not act.
Is a hacked account a civil claim too?
It can be. If the hack caused a business loss, defamed you to clients, or led to a financial transfer, a civil claim for the loss can accompany the criminal complaint. For most individuals the criminal complaint and the bank dispute are the practical remedy.
If your account or money was taken over, get in touch and keep every screenshot ready. FileX Advocates & Legal Consultants, Kolkata, drafts and files these matters before the Calcutta High Court, City Civil and Sessions courts, magistrate, family, consumer and tribunal forums. Call +91 7439811422 or WhatsApp us for a free first consultation.