How to Recover a Hacked WhatsApp Account: First Steps

A friend texts that your WhatsApp is asking them for money. You open the app and you are logged out, or a six-digit code arrived that you did not request. Someone is likely using your number, and the first minutes decide how far the scam spreads through your contacts.

Most takeovers can be reversed on your own. WhatsApp ties the account to your phone number and the SMS code, not a password. This guide walks the first steps in order, what to lock down next, and the scams that follow a hijack.

Last checked: 9 November 2026.

#Quick Answer

Open WhatsApp on the phone with your SIM, tap Log back in, and enter the six-digit code WhatsApp sends to your number. WhatsApp's compromised account page says that re-registering logs out every other device. If a two-step PIN you never set appears, wait seven days and try again. Warn contacts by SMS or another app. Nobody outside WhatsApp, including AwareXone, can restore the account for you.

#The First 10 Minutes

1. If a code you did not request appears, do nothing with it. Without that code the other person cannot finish registering your number.
2. On your phone with the SIM, open WhatsApp, tap "Log back in", then "Continue", and enter your full number with country code.
3. Type the six-digit code from SMS or the phone call. WhatsApp's page on recovering a compromised account says this is how you remove someone already using the account.
4. If WhatsApp asks for a two-step verification PIN you never created, stop guessing. The hijacker may have enabled it to keep you out.
5. Check whether the screen says your account cannot use WhatsApp. That is a ban, not a hack; see our WhatsApp ban guide for Malaysia.

#The Next Hour

1. Open Settings, then Linked devices, and tap Log out on every computer, tablet or browser you do not recognise. WhatsApp's linked devices page explains where sessions appear.
2. Turn on two-step verification and add an email address in Settings, per WhatsApp's account security tips.
3. Call your mobile network if you see unexpected "No service", since SIM swap attacks start that way in Malaysia.
4. Screenshot the logout notice, any unknown chats, and messages friends forwarded to you.
5. If money moved, call your bank and the National Scam Response Centre on 997 through the government's NSRC page.

#Warn Your Contacts

Hijacked WhatsApp accounts message family and friends for loans, codes or links. Warn people through SMS, a voice call or another app. Do not rely on WhatsApp itself if you are still fighting for access.

• Tell close contacts not to send money or forward any code that arrives on their phone.
• If you run a business, post a short notice on your website or another social page you still control.
• Keep copies of fraudulent messages in case you need them for a police report or bank dispute.

#What Not to Do

• Do not share the six-digit code with anyone, including someone posing as WhatsApp support or a friend.
• Do not pay anyone offering to unban or recover the account. WhatsApp's page on suspicious messages and scams warns that payment requests to use WhatsApp are themselves scams.
• Do not report your own number while you are still trying to log back in. WhatsApp's ban help says reporting the account you are recovering can make things worse.
• Do not install unofficial WhatsApp apps to get back in faster. They can trigger a permanent ban.

#If the SMS Code Never Arrives

The problem is usually the SIM or network, not WhatsApp. Our guide to WhatsApp saying your number is no longer registered covers inactive SIMs, roaming and the wait after too many wrong code guesses. Our guide to resetting a two-step PIN covers the seven-day delay when a hijacker set the PIN.

#If Your Business Runs on This Number

Shops that take orders on WhatsApp should post a short warning on the counter and website while recovery is in progress. Tell staff to confirm large orders by voice, not only through a chat. Once you are back in, review catalogue links and payment instructions the hijacker may have changed.

Our guide to a hacked WhatsApp Business account covers customer messaging after a takeover.

#Document What Happened

Keep a short timeline with dates: when the first code arrived, when you were logged out, which contacts reported scam messages, and any bank transfers. That record helps a police report, a bank dispute and an honest ban appeal if the hijacker's spam triggered enforcement.

Registering again is free. WhatsApp does not charge for the SMS or call that delivers the code, and anyone asking for payment to push a code through is running a scam.

#When a Case Review Makes Sense

Most people recover a hijacked WhatsApp number with the SMS code alone. SocialSafe by AwareXone reviews cases when a business number was scammed, when a PIN block and a ban overlap, or when you are unsure which notice you are seeing. Our WhatsApp account recovery service explains how that review works, and our Trust Center sets out what we never ask for.

#Frequently Asked Questions