Your YouTube Channel Has Been Hacked! Here's What To Do

YouTube hacked incidents on the rise

Even though YouTube has a range of spam, deceptive practices, and scam policies aimed at protecting users (watchers and creators), YouTube hacks are prevalent.

The latest attack saw multiple large-subscribed YouTube channels hacked in a cryptocurrency scam that allowed hackers to pocket $243,000 in just over a week.

The hackers repurposed popular YouTube channels to upload a fake “live stream” made up of video clips of Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk and other crypto enthusiasts. The fake feed featured text luring unsuspecting watchers to send their cryptocurrency (ETH/BTC) with a promise of doubling their money.

In June 2023, several accounts belonging to Indian stand-up comedians and YouTubers were hacked. The account names were changed to Tesla Corp and replaced the profile pictures with the Tesla logo. Some of the accounts had all of their original content deleted.

YouTube hackers seem to target YT accounts with large subscriber counts, as it allows them to reach a wider audience with their scams. But, that doesn't mean your YouTube channel followed by only your mates and your mum is safe.

Whether you're growing your YouTube following for your business or brand, or you're using the platform for your own enjoyment, it pays to protect your channel from being YouTube hacked.

Here's why.

The consequences of being YouTube hacked

For some people, YouTube is just a means to watch content for free. It has everything from music videos to cooking tutorials, gardening tips, fitness, cute cats, and more. But for some, YouTube is their livelihood. We're not just talking small change here, we're talking big bucks.

In January 2022, 23-year-old Jimmy Donaldson, aka “MrBeast” was named YouTube's highest-earning content creator raking in $54 million.

But whether you're a YouTube watcher or a content creator with a monetized channel, having your YouTube hacked can have significant consequences.

YouTube is owned by Google. This means if your YouTube account has been compromised, then your Gmail or Google account is also at risk. If you use those as a primary email account, then all the accounts connected to them are also in danger. As are your personal details and payment information.

You see, a YouTube hacked account has a ripple effect...

Content creators who have spent years building a loyal following could start to see their subscriber figures drop as hackers post videos or conduct activity that is not on brand.

Like in the cryptocurrency scam we mentioned, it can also be the followers that are the victims and this can have a knock-on effect on a brand's reputation. And if you're locked out of the account and unable to recover it, you could lose access to every single piece of content you ever created.

You could also be losing the revenue generated from that monetized account. We're pretty sure losing out on $54 million would hurt!

How do you know if you've been YouTube hacked?

It's not hard to know. YouTube hackers don't seem to be too worried about flying under the radar. If you notice any of the following changes then it's bad news...

• Video content appears on your channel that you didn't create or upload.
• You find videos on your watched list that you didn't watch or on your playlists that you didn't add or subscribe to.
• There are comments, replies, or messages from your account that you didn't write.

There may be more obvious changes made to the name of your channel, its URL, your profile photo, or the channel description. Others won't be so public but will be equally important, such as updated security settings, added third-party apps, and new phone numbers or email addresses added to your account.

How to protect YouTube channel from hackers

As we say here at Hoody, prevention is better than cure! There are a few simple steps you can take to ensure your YouTube account and your personal data is as safe as possible.

Be aware of how YouTube hackers work

Knowing what to look out for means you're less likely to fall victim to YouTube hackers' dirty tricks. One common YouTube hacking approach is to send fake YouTube emails. These phishing emails are sent to content creators explaining an emergency situation on their account, such as a possible hack.

The email then asks the user to confirm their YouTube credentials to recover the account. No matter how convincing the email looks, always remember that YouTube will never ask for your login credentials, especially not via email.

For starters, they already have them!

How to delete your YouTube channel

Ok, so not exactly protecting your “channel”, but it is a step that will help protect your personal data from falling into the hands of YouTube hackers.

Recent data leaks from the most popular social media platforms (including YouTube) exposed user information such as names, contact info, personal info, content, and follower stats.

If you want to remove the risk of being YouTube hacked, then the only way is to not have an account. Luckily, Hoody has already detailed how to delete your YouTube channel.

Something to be aware of when learning how to delete YouTube channels... Deleting a YouTube CHANNEL is different from deleting a YouTube ACCOUNT.

Your YouTube account is technically your Google account. If you delete that, then yes, it will delete your YouTube channel but it will also vanish everything else connected to Google— your email, your calendar, your Google Docs, and everything saved in your G-Drive.

Enable two-step authentication

Although two-step authentication isn't completely bulletproof, it is still considered one of the best ways to protect your YouTube account from hackers. There have been instances of hackers sending phishing emails asking you to disable your two-step authentication for YouTube temporarily. Don't fall for it and never share the authentication code.

Of course, hackers are crafty creatures and it might already be too late for such preventative steps. In which case...

What to do when you've been YouTube hacked

If you suspect that your YouTube account has been hacked the first thing to establish is: can you still log into your account? If you can, great! All is not lost.

Change your Google account password immediately. Then go to your Google account security settings and check “Your Devices”.

Here you'll be able to see all the devices that have recently logged onto your account. If there are any devices you don't recognize, you can click to "Manage all devices" and sign them out. And since you'll have changed the password, they won't be able to sign back in again.

But, if you can't sign in, then things can get a bit more difficult as you try to recover your Google account. During this process, you'll have to correctly answer as many questions as possible to verify that you are the owner of that account.

Account recovery can be stressful and although Google has provided tips to help you through it, they are a bit confusing.

For example, they suggest not skipping any of the security questions, stating that a “best guess” is better than nothing. The next tip, however, is to be exact with passwords and security answers.

So, give your best “exact” guess then...thanks Google.

If the recovery process goes smoothly, you'll be asked to reset your password, and access to the hacked YouTube account will be restored to you. Hooray!

If it doesn't...then, unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about it. This is why protecting your YouTube account from hackers is so important.

Social media and networking platforms are favorite targets for cybercriminals. If you need more help, we've got you covered. Here's How to Recover a Hacked Facebook Account.