Search any of the Gmail support forums online, from social media platforms like the Gmail subreddit or the official help of Google’s own Gmail community, and one question comes up time and time again: my Gmail account was hacked, how can I fix this?

Aside from the inevitable dodgy attempts to discover a magical way to hack into someone else’s account, the majority will still consist of genuine requests for help. Take this example, published on the Gmail subreddit on October 6, which is analogous to many: “A friend of mine had his Google account stolen. The hacker changed the recovery phone number and email address.” The poster explains that the friend in question has enabled two-factor authentication and asks if anything can be done to recover the account now: “or is he done?”

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The good news is that it is still entirely possible to recover a Google Account even if, as in this case, the hacker has managed to bypass most, if not all, of the security and recovery protections in place or to change. Even if, as the poster replied to a proposed solution, “whoever stole the account changed the recovery email address and phone number to their own email address and disabled all other recovery methods.”

How to recover a stolen Gmail account after a hacker changed everything

Google, despite the negative opinions of many people seemingly frustrated with the process, offers a lot of help in recovering your Google account, even in the event that it is stolen by someone who then changes your recovery information. Indeed, there is an entire section of Google Support dedicated to securing a “hacked or compromised” account. I suspect most people who say these steps don’t work didn’t follow Google’s instructions exactly and waited the allotted time for the process to complete.

It is advisable to use a device that you have used before to access your Google account or check your Gmail or other Google service. The same tip applies to a known location where you have previously accessed your Google account. Google recommends using the same browser, such as Chrome or Safari, on a laptop or tablet if your smartphone is stolen and doing this from your home or work location. This can speed up the recovery process by allowing Google to verify your identity.

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Also answer the questions about passwords as accurately as possible. This applies even if the hacker changed your current password to lock you out of your account. “If you’re asked for the last password you remember,” Google said, “enter the most recent password you remember.” The more recent the better, so use the one the hackers switched from. “If you can’t remember previous passwords with certainty: make your best guess,” Google said.

You may see a message stating that your account is on a security hold. There is often a delay between submitting the collection request and the processing of the collection claim. While this may annoy some people, it is a proactive measure so you need to be patient. “Account recovery requests may be delayed for a few hours or a number of days,” Google said, “depending on various risk factors.”

Google also informed me that when it comes to users whose accounts have already been hacked and whose second factor and recovery factors have been changed, in certain cases it is possible to use the original information. “Our automated account recovery process allows a user to use their original recovery factors for up to seven days after they have been changed,” the spokesperson said, “provided they set them up before the incident.”

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And finally, if all else fails and the account holder has a YouTube account, many users have found that contacting YouTube support, including via social media, has often resulted in them receiving direct assistance to get the account restore. all seems lost.