My Email Account Has Been Hacked! What to Do?

It’s difficult to know that your email account has been hacked. It is crucial to act accordingly to minimize potential damage. Here we will guide you with simple steps to know how your email account got hacked and what to do in such situations.

Before delving this article, do you know how does an email account get hacked? Well, it can get hacked for several reasons. Such as Phishing scams that trick you into giving away your password by pretending to be a legitimate brand. Data breaches can expose your credentials if you use the same password for multiple accounts. Also, logging into a public PC can leave your account vulnerable to the next user. If you are using unsecured public Wi-Fi, it can also allow hackers to spy on your email details.  The major reason behind email hacking is the weak passwords that are easy to guess.

Therefore, email account hacking can take place at any time and anywhere. You just need to be careful in certain situations.

How do I know if my Email has been Hacked?

First of all, you must proceed to know if your email account has been hacked or compromised or not. It won’t always be obvious that someone has gained access to your email account. It might be due to various other reasons also.

Here are some important signs to look out for

• Look for unusual activities in your email account.
• Check if your emails are being forwarded to unknown addresses.
• Look to see if any of your contacts report receiving strange emails from your account.
• If you are unable to login with your usual email account and password.
• Check the notifications from your email provider for unusual activity.

What to do When My Email Account is Hacked?

If you discover unusual activity in your email account. Here are some crucial steps to take to keep your email account safe and secure.

1. Change Your Password Immediately: As soon as you suspect that your email has been hacked change your password. Always choose a strong & unique password that can’t be easily guessable.

2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Enabling this will add an extra layer of security & harder for hackers to gain access. It requires a second form of verification. This could be a code sent to your phone or generated by an authentication app.

3. Inform Your Contacts: Notify your contacts that your email has been hacked. This prevents them from falling victim to any phishing emails that might be sent from your account.

4. Report the Hack to Your Email Provider Inform your email service provider about the hack. They can provide additional support and guidance on securing your account. They might also help you recover any lost data or undo unauthorized changes.

5. Review Your Account Activity Most email providers allow you to check recent login activity. Look for any unfamiliar locations or devices. If you find anything suspicious, log out of all sessions and review the security settings again.

Thus, by following the above steps you should be able to solve your query.

Preventive Measures to be Taken to Avoid Data Loss

As your email account is cloud-based; is always subject to hackers or cyber-attacks. Therefore, it is crucial to back up important emails using automated software. For example, you can try the Advik Email Backup Wizard to backup multiple emails in a single attempt. As we all know, prevention is better than cure. Therefore, it is recommended to always have a backup copy with you to save and protect your data easily. This tool also allows you to backup your entire email account in several standard file formats.

Conclusion

This blog discussed various ways to solve my email has been hacked, how do I fix it query. However, it doesn’t end with that, unless and until you have secured your email account with preventive measures. Also, it is suggested to have a backup copy of your email data to avoid future uncertainties. Once your email account got hacked, it is unlikely to gain access to your data as it was previously.