A few months ago, an ex-partner from an online relationship claimed he had accessed my Discord and read private conversations. He mentioned details that made me think he really had been inside the account. He also claimed he could access my iCloud and WhatsApp. The most disturbing incident was hearing sounds through my headphones that seemed to come from Discord even though we were not in a voice call, and he could not hear me.
Afterward, I deleted my old email and social media accounts, created new ones, changed my phone number, and factory-reset my Windows PC. Since then, the only unusual event has been him contacting one of my friends to ask about me. I also recently received an unexpected WhatsApp verification-code message, which made me worry that someone is trying to take over my new number or account.
Could the Discord incident have been caused by malware, a compromised account, a Discord feature such as a soundboard, or remote access to my computer? Does his past behavior suggest he could still get back in despite the reset and new accounts, and what security steps should I take now?
4 Answers
There is no way to determine exactly what happened from these details alone, and his claims may have been exaggerated to frighten you. Still, after a clean reset and properly secured new accounts, continued access is unlikely unless he has your current password, controls an email or phone-recovery method, has access to one of your devices, or tricks you into approving a login. Keep software updated, do not reuse passwords, reject unexpected login prompts, and avoid sharing verification codes.
Treat the unexpected verification message as a security warning, but not as proof that the person has access. WhatsApp sends those messages when someone enters your number during registration. Enable WhatsApp's two-step verification PIN, protect your mobile-account PIN with your carrier, and use an authenticator app instead of text messages for services that support it. For an Apple account, use a strong unique password, review the trusted devices and recovery methods, and remove anything unfamiliar.
The Discord behavior does not automatically prove that he controlled the entire PC. He may have had access to an active Discord session, known or guessed the password, used a connected account, or exploited a Discord audio feature. Hearing one-way audio could also have been a soundboard or another account feature rather than remote control of the computer. Review Discord's active sessions, revoke unfamiliar devices and authorized apps, change the password, and enable MFA.
If you factory-reset the computer and then installed updates, that usually removes ordinary malware. For extra assurance, you can perform a fully clean Windows installation from official installation media, but firmware-level attacks are exceptionally uncommon. The more important steps are changing every password from a trusted device, using unique passwords, signing out other sessions, updating recovery details, and enabling multifactor authentication wherever possible.
I changed my accounts and phone number, but the unexpected WhatsApp verification message still worried me. I did not share the code with anyone.
Someone requesting a WhatsApp verification code is usually trying to register your number on another device. Never provide the code; if you did not request it, ignore the message and secure the account.