How to Know if Your Email account has Been Hacked

Data breaches happen all the time, and only the biggest or most scandalous make the news. Unfortunately, the odds are high that you at least some of your information has been compromised during a hack. The scariest thing is that if your email is compromised and the password is not changed, you will not have any warning that your account is compromised. Sadly, it is far too easy for hackers to get a hold of your emails these days. Many can be found with a simple email search on Google and many passwords are pretty easy to crack.

Most people do not realize they are the victims of an email hack until they get messages from multiple contacts saying they are receiving odd messages from your email account. Often, hackers will send out an email from your account asking all of your contacts to send money for a family emergency or to make a purchase for you, promising that you will later reimburse them.

Not only are these types of hacks embarrassing, but they continue to happen because they often work on at least a small number of your contacts. If you can no longer log onto your email, then you can assume your email was compromised, and someone else changed the password. If the password has not changed but you find out your email was compromised, change the password immediately. Do not forget to change any other accounts where you have used the same password.

There is an online tool that makes it easy to check your email to see any involvement in a significant data breach. Have I Been owned only requires that you type in your email address, and it will provide a list of known data breaches associated with that email address.

Other signs to look for indicating your email is no longer secure:

• You notice strange emails in your sent folder. If this happens, immediately assume you have been hacked and take the appropriate action.
• You receive unexpected password reset emails. If you have not requested to change your password, but receive an email stating that you have asked for a password change, then it is likely a hacker is attempting to use your email.
• You check your login information and notice logins from devices that do not belong to you.

What to do if you expect your email is compromised:

Remember, not all hackers are solely interested in your contact information and sending out emails from your account. They may, instead, be searching your email looking for important banking, credit card and other personal information. The first step in the event of a potential hack is to change your password immediately. Use something complex and impossible to guess from information in your emails.

If you have lost access to your account, contact customer service for your email provider as soon as possible. Explain the situation and have access to your account, with a new and secure password, re-instated. Check account forwarding and auto-replies on your email account. Make sure there is nothing set up that you did not enable yourself.

Once you have secured your account, consider sending out a form letter to everyone in your contact list stating that your email was hacked, apologizing, and explaining that you have now re-secured the account. Giving notice to your contacts is the responsible way to make sure they were not taken advantage of by the entity that hacked your account.

Check all of your other accounts to make sure they were not affected. The first step is ensuring you can still log on to any accounts connected to your emails, such as your banking, credit cards, and social media. If you cannot log on, then assume those accounts were compromised as well and take immediate action. Try resetting your password, and make sure there is no fraudulent activity on the account. If you are unable to reset the password, contact customer service for each account.

Hackers can easily use your email to set up malware on your device. If you have an antivirus program, make sure it is updated and then run a scan as soon as possible. If you do not have antivirus protection, purchase it, and run a scan. Malware can give hackers access to every file on your device, and some versions can even capture every keystroke.