Hey everyone,
I'm really in a bind here. My Google account, which I've had for over 10 years, was hacked back on June 11th after my SIM was swapped and someone managed to bypass my 2FA. At first, I could still log in, but now I'm completely locked out. It seems like the hackers set up a security key, so I can't get back in at all.
I signed up for Google's Advanced Protection Program last week, but I hadn't set up a security key yet. Do you think they attached one to my account? Is there anything I can do at this point to recover it? It's frustrating because I've found some sketchy stuff like an odd service worker controlling my devices, and after contacting the cyber crime unit, they told me they don't handle individual cases like mine.
What are my options? I'm considering if my Google account might help track down this physical key. And to make things worse, my email was changed to a weird one with a partial name (kevin****@gmail.com). I appreciate any help, even if it seems drastic!
3 Answers
Honestly, your best bet is to keep trying to contact Google directly. They’re the only ones who might be able to help you recover your account. It’s frustrating that no one else can really step in here, but they’re the main door to your account and related services. Have you checked if there’s a specific reporting tool for this type of thing on their support page? That might give you a better chance of getting a personal response.
Regarding your update, it's possible that the email associated with your account is either a random burner account or someone else's compromised account. During a hack, there’s a chance they created a fake account to keep you out. Also, why didn’t you change your recovery options earlier? It sounds like it was just a chaotic time for you with everything going on.
I was actually in the hospital when it happened, so I wasn’t even aware of what was going on. It’s all been hard to piece together since then, and now I’m left with devices I can’t fully trust.
It's really frustrating to feel powerless in situations like this. It seems like you’ve done so much already. I’d definitely recommend reaching out again to anyone who might listen. And it’s good to hear you're ready to offer a reward for solutions—sometimes that gives people more motivation to help you out! Just keep digging for those clues in your devices where possible.
Thanks for that! I’ve run every fix I could think of, including factory resets and scans for shady activity. It’s been a nightmare to try to track down all this.
I appreciate that! I was thinking about contacting someone from their sales team since I use Google Cloud—maybe they can give me a more direct solution.