r/cybersecurity_help

Hi all, first post here.

I’ve been delving deep down a rabbit hole in regards to the recent(ish) surge of cyber surveillance and the like and ways to avoid the cameras. I’m not very knowledgeable on the topics personally but I’ve seen videos discussing how an IR blocking coating can spoof things like iPhone FaceID.

Does anyone know of something like window tints that can be applied to car windows to avoid face rec through the windows? Preferably clear instead of darker tints so that police don’t get all pissy that they can’t see inside the vehicle.

Thanks all!

Was watching fighting videos and there was a comment underneath to watch the full video. I clicked it like a dummy and next thing I know I start getting asked if I want to share my location, and microphone. I’m scared now. What do I do?

About a month ago, my email was hacked, so I decided to change the email address and delete the old one. I play on Xbox, so my Xbox account updated the email automatically. However, when I tried to play The Sims 4, it asked me to update my password and sent the code to my old email address.

I already contacted EA support to update my email. The first time, I failed the verification even though I shared my DLC purchase receipts—I think it might have been because of the birth date. On the next attempt, they told me I could update my email simply by logging into any EA game from my Xbox. That turned out to be false, because the only option my Xbox gave me was the same one: sending a code to the old email.

I keep contacting EA support, but they keep giving me the same solution—log into a game from the console—even though I’ve already told them it doesn’t work. They also no longer let me change the email through security questions like they did the first time.

I’m exhausted. I’ve invested a lot of money in The Sims to just lose it. I know I can play offline, but I don’t have access to the gallery, and Apex requires being online anyway.

Does anyone know why I can’t update my email from the Xbox? Could it be because it’s an Xbox One and not a Series X/S? Or is it just an EA issue?

now that more apps require it, i am debating to do age checks using the face scan. im 18+ but im also against giving my face to 3rd parties like persona as many others are. i heard that some people are using heavy makeup to completely change their appearance (to make sharp features, different eye shapes, etc.) to create a ‘fake’ face but does that actually work? will their ‘actual’ faces be protected from any potential leaks or misuse?

So I am going to keep it very short because this is happening with my friend he was working with someone to make a business and their competitors who are basically connected with gangsters as well and have strong rich connections started hacking their website, first their official website then their other small AI startup that they were working on for months got hacked and these things kept going and suddenly the AI voice model my friend made got hacked and all the code got public somehow.

This was the last straw they filed a case against them but nothing gets resolved the police got all the proofs but now they are giving them death threats and today his side hustle which was creating websites and hosting them on hostinger was also targeted and hostinger account was hacked his clients website is down because of server issues and he can not login into his hostinger account

Please help guyss if anyone can he might slip into depression and in all the middle can also have legal cases by his clients. This all is happening in Delhi India.

Got the first text last week.

Got the second text today, same code but a different phone number.

The only thing sus to me is the slash in the phone number, but if I press it (haven't called) it loads up on my phone fine.

Have changed passwords but unsure if this is something I should be more concerned about or not.

Text 1

G-xxxx23 is your Google verification code. Didn't request this? inform support at: 02/58689524.

Text 2

G-xxxx23 is your Google verification code. Didn't request this? inform support at: 02/57484782

I accidentally fat fingered a reply on a tweet, which took me to a website I instantly closed out. Then my phone asked if the website could access my camera, photos, and contacts. I obviously said no to all of them, and changed my main passwords.

I saw another post of a user that had the same issue a few days ago, and it didn’t seem like anyone had anything come up from it. I just want to make sure no one has had that issue, and had anything come out of it.

Thank you!

So my friend got hacked, and their Google password has been changed but it's pretty recent, what do I do to help her? They say that the hacker has all their information, and right now they seem to be closing down a lot of their accounts on stuff to prevent people using their accounts to scam people. They don't have a bank account connected to it, but the hacker might have a few addresses. What do I do?

So it first began 4 days ago, when I got an email of a password change request for my steam account, I immediately enabled 2fa and changed my password, then after a day they changed the password of my other steam account which is connected to the same email (I don’t use that account so it is not that important to me) I did retrieve it tho with the help of steam support, now that same day my discord account got hacked, no one changed the password but they sent pictures and scams to all the people I have on discord, I changed the password and enabled 2fa, now when I checked my discord they actually put all the people on discord in the ignored section (it’s an option in discord, thought it may help if it’s a pattern to some hacker or something). I made sure to enable 2fa on all my emails and changed the passwords. now after 4 days of it starting, they changed my epic games account password, first I got an email of the code then it said password changed successfully, how is that possible when I changed my password and enabled 2fa???

Emails also disappear from my inbox the moment they are sent, and I managed to catch one email and it said password was changed and the location was Moscow, Russia, with this IP 109.107.168.77

I would really be grateful if you could help me.

Someone from my clg is putting bad things abt me with my name and i dont want to leave it because i am a guy who take cares of his job and go back home without disturbing

If any professionals who can <h><a><c><k> me that account i will pay u plssss🙏🏿

Cont**act tme if u can help mee

Hello, I don’t see any visible signs of tempering with my mail but someone changed my disney password, EA Account password, and accessed Discord and scammed someone of 2700$ using it (shared pics with that person on my discord). What can be the issue. I tried downloading Assassin’s Creed 2 from Dodi Repacks.

Hi everyone, just wanted some kindly advice on a few things. For context, I’ve stulmbled on this page and r/privacy (can’t post there since I don’t have much karma and my account is fairly new) for something else but as i looked curiously I got sucked in a rabbit hole and am super terrified I am 20 and while I’m pretty young I’m not the most tech savvy person ever. I also do have anxiety and kind of overthink things, maybe to a high degree and this sub kinda has increased it or rather made me a bit paranoid to use anything tech related now but I’m getting help but wanted to hear just general thoughts. I’ll be honest I respect how dedicated most of you guys are but also intimidated lol mainly in how you guys have found ways to mitigate and change and I don’t feel at the point or sure if I want to get there or to that level. But anyways:

1. I recently downloaded brave and Firefox on my laptop. I actually like them both compared to google or chrome but is there one that’s better or is using both fine.
2. I noticed Firefox uses google as a search. Is that okay to use or should I just a different search engine like DuckDuckGo?
3. In regards to mobile (apple/IOS) what’s the best, so far Firefox was the only one I could sync with my laptop vs with DuckDuckGo and Brave I cant sync or recover old bookmarks or other stuff, maybe thats just a me thing im doing wrong or missing?
4. I still use google, trying to I guess lower my use and not use it as my main browser . And I don’t really use Microsoft products unless for school and sometimes the browser but it’s not something I really use as much, albeit i have a microsoft laptop but still . But I do still use Gmail as I have a personal and school account, I use YouTube too but messing around with freetube. I also do use google slides and docs for school as well. And when I did use Firefox to sign up I used my Gmail account. Just last night since i can barley sleep now, deleted all my stuff from google photos. Will I need to give these up completely or just find some sort of balance?
5. What’s your take on ai. Personally I mainly use it as a tool for personal use like creative writing but school for like notes, creating practice quizzes, or explaining topics. I used Claude (which ik itsnt the best, but its a lesser evil ai compared to most and i simply use it as a tool)and recently heard they might be rolling out again verification and is actually how I got on this sub as to curious what people were saying . Can I still use Claude or ai if I don’t share any personal info or age verification. I do use open router, not often just maybe a week ago messed around with it but not sure how safe it is.
6. How do you guys stay level headed. Specifically about caring for privacy but not getting obsessive. That’s my big thing where like I value convenience and privacy but seems like can’t really have both? I understand why we need privacy not to hide things necessarily but because we don’t know anyone to know what we do. That being said how do you decide your trade offs or not let privacy take over your life. Cause honestly this sub initially made me doom and gloom and kinda came off as fear mongering. Albeit I do understand why you guys care and why it’s a core issue and right as people, especially with how the world is going.
7. How am i supposed to ever get a job, dont most sites request your info and then it gets stored? Or going to a doctor? Or anything really? like i went to a small gathering and kinda freaked and went to hide away as they took photos and stuff. I feel just very incapable of not thinking or privacy and i barley function as a result now. I feel in fear of just everything, even just asking questions on a browser

Basically, what is the minimum i can do to stay have more privacy, im already trying to do less of google, so i hope my efforts are still meaning something even if i dont completely degoogle 100%. im in school right now, and this whole thing has been taken a toll on my mental and physical life, enjoyment of things, sleep, etc, and i feel like i can function where my heart is pounding for the past day and y mind can concentrate on anything else.

Thank you for everyone who responds. I want to hear from you and your perspectives just to gain some insight. Hopefully I’m not asking too much. And sorry for any bad grammar and how long this post is! 

Yesterday I received an OTP from Spotify that I did not request. I ignored it assuming someone mistyped their number.

A few hours later, I received another OTP—this time from Microsoft. That raised suspicion, so I checked the login activity on the Microsoft account linked to my phone number. I didn’t see anything unusual, and the email shown there is one I recognize (starts with my name).

However, around midnight I received a more concerning SMS:

“Microsoft: Someone else might have accessed <masked-email-redacted>. Recover at aka.ms/alcs”

The issue is: I do not recognize this email address. It might be something I created 5–6 years ago, but I can’t recall the full ID.

When I try logging into Microsoft using my phone number, I only see my current account—nothing matching that email.

I contacted Microsoft support via their official site. They confirmed the SMS is legitimate, but said they cannot assist unless I provide the full email address. They also mentioned it’s possible the attacker removed my phone number from that account.

Questions:

Is this likely an account recovery attempt chain targeting old accounts tied to my number?

Any way to recover or identify that email ID with partial info?

It feels like I am getting targeted by someone personaly known to me who seems to trying to login to various services using my number.

I had this type of unknown otp recieving issue on my another number earlier and one common trend is that it happens on Saturday or friday mostly.

I never shared any otp but this is the first time they seem to login successfully atleast to one service?

Any input appreciated.

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Hi everyone,

I really need serious guidance.

For the past 5 years, an unknown person has been continuously harassing me through calls and messages. He uses different numbers (often international/VoIP), so blocking hasn’t helped.

What makes this worse:

* He somehow knows bits about my routine (like when I step out occasionally)

* He mentions things like CCTV to scare me

* He has contacted my parents and even relatives

* He doesn’t talk normally — just calls to disturb or intimidate

What I’ve already done:

* Changed phone, SIM, house, WiFi

* Limited social contact completely

* Filed complaints (no effective action so far)

* Blocked hundreds of numbers

At this point, I feel mentally exhausted and unsafe.

I’m not looking for illegal hacking or anything risky —

I’m looking for:

* Practical ways to identify how he might be getting information

* How to protect myself and my family better

* Any safe/ethical techniques to narrow down the source

* Advice from people who’ve handled similar stalking cases

If you’ve experienced something like this or have knowledge in cybersecurity / personal safety, please guide me.

Thank you.

hi, I recently opened safari and immediately my safari said that i have gotten a virus. I initially ignored it but then I realized that if I really got a virus then I’m screwed. I have an iPhone XR and I know that Iphones are supposed to be harder to get in to, but I just wonder if this is real or a scam or if anybody else has had this happen?

edit: I also opened my iphone to 1 link that I never searched up, something something “watch online” which got me like AHHHH! and then I checked my history and there are 2 links before that that I never searched up.

Hola, hace una hora alguien me llamo de una compañía y desgraciadamente caí en esa estafa,era de WhatsApp,el intentaba escribir desde mi número para que mis conocidos mandarán yappy. Horita mismo puedo acceder a mi cuenta de WhatsApp pero su correo electrónico lo verifico en mi WhatsApp y tengo miedo que pueda hacer con ese código, no sé si puede acceder al pin para volver a tomar mi número o algo pero necesito información de que puedo hacer por favor

nocturnomatrixvision@gmail.com

Este es el correo con el que se verifico,no me deja cambiarlo porque tarda literalmente muchos minutos

Hey everyone. I am starting to start my education for Cybersecurity, coming from a background in EMS. My classes do not start until the fall, however I am wanting to get a leg up on the rest of my classmates. Currently, I am attempting to teach myself SQL, but should I focus my attention on something else, keep the course or start focusing on theory rather than practice? Any advice, tips etc are appreciated!

Hi there! I was on X and I clicked on a link that was promising to show a video of a news item. I clicked out of it when I realized it was a scam. But for the rest of the day, an alert keeps coming up on my phone stating my various app have a virus. Its every twenty minutes. I haven't clicked on them. What do I do??

Hi, I’m looking for defensive guidance on how to preserve and identify evidence of suspected unauthorized access to my phone and accounts so I can make a police report. I am not asking you to contact anyone, access anything for me, or hack anything. I only want help figuring out what evidence to collect, how to preserve it correctly, what to document, and what to avoid doing so I do not destroy evidence.

I suspect my ex had physical access to my iPhone while I was asleep and knew my passcode. I also personally caught him on my phone while I was sleeping just the other day. After that, I started finding suspicious account and device activity.

What I found:

- My Apple account showed an unfamiliar “TapMedia PRO SignIn App” under Sign in with Apple, with a creation date of April 10, 2026.

- My Google account showed multiple iPhone sessions/devices I do not recognize.

- When changing my Google password, Google warned that I would remain signed in on my current device and another Apple iPhone I do not recognize.

- My iPhone call history showed a call marked “Answered on other device,” even though I do not own or use any other Apple devices.

- At the same time, when I check devices under Apple settings, it is not showing any other device I recognize there.

- I also received an “iMessage is Signed Out” notification affecting my phone number.

- My child told me his father removed the SIM card from his phone. The explanation given to my child was that it was needed for Wi-Fi/update reasons, which does not sound technically normal to me.

- My child’s phone had active cell service when the SIM was removed.

- My child’s phone and some related accounts had been tied to one of my email accounts.

- My TextNow account later appeared reactivated, but messages were deleted.

- I also have concerns that my ex and my child’s father may have been sharing information despite denying that they were in contact, because each made statements suggesting knowledge the other would not normally have.

- One example is that my ex brought up a very specific scenario about someone using TextNow to make messages appear to come from someone else, asked my opinion on whether that was possible, and would not identify who he was supposedly talking about. After I referenced that to my child’s father, he went silent, and around that same time my TextNow account was reactivated but the messages were gone.

- I have also noticed behavior suggesting the two men may have had knowledge of events or information they should not have known unless they were communicating.

What I need help with:

1. What evidence should I preserve right now?

2. What exact screenshots, logs, account pages, device settings, carrier records, app/account records, and metadata should I collect?

3. How do I preserve this in a way that is useful for a police report or later forensic review?

4. What should I avoid doing so I do not destroy evidence?

5. How can I tell the difference between normal account behavior and signs of unauthorized access?

6. Is there a way to document this in a clean timeline that would be useful to law enforcement?

I can provide a written timeline of dates, notifications, suspicious account activity, device/account changes, statements made by the people involved, and what each screen showed. Since I can only send text here, I can describe each screenshot and event in detail.

I’m trying to be careful not to overstate anything. I’m looking for defensive guidance on evidence preservation, incident documentation, and how to identify useful indicators of suspected unauthorized access, account tampering, SIM-related interference, and deletion or manipulation of communications.