Accounts can usually be recovered. The most urgent thing right now is stopping your friends being deceived by someone using your name. Let us do both, in that order.
Do this now, from the top
- 1
If you can still log in: change the password and sign out everywhere
Change the password in settings, then use "log out of all devices" (in the security settings). That locks the attacker out. Turn on two-factor authentication immediately afterwards.
- 2
If you cannot log in: use the official recovery process
Every service has a dedicated recovery page for hijacked accounts. Start from "forgot password" on the login screen, or search the help centre for "hacked" or "unauthorised access". Your registered email address or phone number will be used to verify you.
- 3
Tell your friends and contacts
Hijacked accounts are commonly used to message friends in your name asking for a phone number, asking them to open a link, or asking to borrow money. Use another channel — a phone call, a different platform, a family member — to say "I was hacked, ignore any strange messages from me".
- 4
Change that password everywhere else you used it
Attackers try a stolen password on other services. If you used the same or a similar password anywhere, change it all. This is a good moment to move to a different password per service, or to a password manager.
- 5
Report actual harm to the police and the platform
If you lost money, or posts made in your name caused real harm, report it — in Japan via #9110 — and also through the reporting function on the service itself.
⚠ And what not to do
- ✕Do not trust a direct message or a business offering to "recover your account for you" — account recovery services are a common follow-up scam
- ✕Do not give up and leave it. Your friends keep being targeted in your name
- ✕Do not set the old password back once you have recovered the account
Who you can call
No area code needed. Connects you to your nearest consumer affairs centre in Japan.
For non-emergency matters. They can also tell you whether it is a criminal case. Call 110 if it is an emergency.
Technical questions about malware infections and unauthorised access.
The phone numbers on this page are services within Japan. If you are elsewhere, contact your national consumer protection agency, your bank or card issuer directly, and your local police non-emergency line — the steps above still apply.
💬 Worth talking about at home today
Something to say at home: "If you suddenly get a message from me asking for money or gift cards, it is not me. Always ring me to check."