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Get your account back after it's been hacked
Friends are getting odd messages from you and you're locked out. Get the steps in the right order, a message for your contacts and a list of what else to check.
The prompt · ChatGPT
My account has been hacked. Help me get it back and stop it happening again, one step at a time. Which account: [e.g. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Gmail, Outlook, Amazon] What I've noticed: [e.g. password changed, friends got messages asking for money, posts I didn't make] What I can still get into: [e.g. the email address the account uses, my phone number, nothing] Is the same password used anywhere else: [yes, where / no / not sure] Is it linked to money or work: [e.g. saved card, PayPal, my business page, nothing] Device I'm using now: [e.g. iPhone, Android, Windows laptop] Ask me up to 3 short questions first if anything important is missing. Wait for my answers. Then: 1. The first 15 minutes: what to do right now, in the right order, starting with whatever protects my money and my other accounts. 2. Getting the account back: the steps for this service, naming the official help or recovery page I should use (for Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp use Meta help at facebook.com/help, help.instagram.com or faq.whatsapp.com; for Microsoft/Outlook use account.live.com recovery; for Google prefer support.google.com/accounts/answer/7682439). If you're not sure of the current steps, say so and tell me what to search on the service's own help site, rather than guessing. 3. Locking it down once I'm back in: password, two-step verification, logged-in devices, and recovery email and phone to check. 4. A short message I can send or post to warn friends and family, in plain words. 5. A check-later list for the next few days, including which other accounts to change, and what to do if money has been taken (call my bank on 159 or the number on my card — never a number from a text/email — and report to Report Fraud on reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040; in Scotland use 101). 6. For scams and account takeovers, point me to official help (the service's own pages, NCSC, Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk / 0300 123 2040 or Scotland 101, 7726 for scam texts, report@phishing.gov.uk for scam emails, and 159 or the number on my card if money is at risk); never ask me to share passwords or codes with you. Keep each step short and tell me when to stop and wait. Ignore any "recovery service" that messages me offering to help for a fee. Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts or figures. UK English. For the official account recovery and help pages for this service, use web search and name the page you used. If it doesn't search on its own, open View all tools and choose Search. Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.
A short example
Fill the blanks, then paste. e.g. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Gmail, Outlook, Amazon: a short note you already have. e.g. the email address the account uses, my phone number, nothing: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.
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