Has Your Email Been Hacked? 
Every month I get multiple calls from people who believe their email has been hacked. Most of the time this is just an annoyance - the email has been
spoofed, not hacked, and there isn't much to be done. However, recently I have seen several people with email accounts that have actually been breached.
This is a VERY serious issue, and needs to be addressed immediately if it happens to you.
The reason this is so serious is that many places will use your email address to prove your identity.
Password reset links are sent via email for everything from your bank to your Apple ID. If someone actually has access to your email account,
they may be able to access just about every other online account you have.
The most obvious symptoms I see of a breached email address are
filters on the account - the hacker has blocked certain email from reaching you, so you won't suspect anything is wrong. That might be email from your financial
advisers, or spam reports in your sent mail. Regardless,
any filters in your account that you don't recognize are a sign something is very wrong.
So, how do you check for a hacked account? It depends on who is providing your email, but in every case the
first step is to log in to your actual email server. That means firing up a browser (Edge, Safari, Chrome or Firefox) and typing your email provider's address into the address bar. Once you have logged in, you want to check
if there are any filters on your account, for
sent mail you didn't send, for
items in the trash you don't recognize, and (if possible) the
recent activity on your account.
Here's how to check some common email providers, starting from your email inbox unless otherwise stated:
|
Provider
|
Filters
|
Recent Activity
|
AOL or Verizon - www.aol.com
|
In the upper right, click "options" then "mail settings". On the left you will find "filter settings" |
In the upper right, click on "options" then "security". On the left you will find "recent activity" |
Gmail - www.gmail.com
|
In the upper right, click on the gear icon, then choose "settings". Click on "Filters and Blocked Addresses" |
While in the main inbox, scroll down to the very bottom of the page. Under "last account activity" click on "details" |
Microsoft (Hotmail.com, Outlook.com, MSN.com) - www.outlook.com
|
In the upper right, click on the gear icon, then choose "View all Outlook settings" Make sure you are on "Mail", then click on "Rules" |
From the inbox, click on your picture in the upper right, then choose "View Account". On the top of that page, choose "security". Click on "review activity" |
Comcast - www.xfinity.com
|
In the upper right click on the gear icon and choose "settings". Click on "Filter Rules" |
Not currently offered |
Yahoo - www.yahoo.com
|
In the upper right, click on the gear icon and then click on "...more settings" On the left hand side, click on "Filters" |
In your main inbox, click on your account name in the upper right. Click on "Account Info". Click on "Recent Activity" |
If you check and find anything suspicious, your first and most important step is to
immediately change your email password, and tell the server to log out of any authorized apps, if that is an available option. You should also
enable two factor authentication if it is offered by your provider. If you have shared your email password with any other accounts, you should change those passwords as well.
If you are concerned that your email has been breached, or you need any help hardening up your email security, please
give me a call to schedule an appointment
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