Build a digital defense against hacked email accounts | Community
The Oregon FBI has released tips to help people build a digital defense against hacked email accounts.
Recently, the FBI offered advice to help prevent bad actors from accessing your social media accounts. For those using email, however, the danger can be just as great.
According to FBI partners at the Federal Trade Commission, here are some signs that someone has hacked into your email account:
• You cannot login to your account.
• Your “sent” folder contains messages that you have not sent or that have been completely emptied.
• Friends or family members report receiving messages from you with strange links or attachments.
• You know your information has been compromised by a data breach, malware infection, or loss of device.
If you’re concerned about the security of your email account, here are some steps to take:
• Update your security software, run a scan, and remove any possible malware from your devices.
• If you can access your account, change your password and set up multi-factor authentication.
• If you can’t access your account, check with the email provider for steps to recover your account.
• Check your account’s “rules” setting to make sure it’s not set to automatically forward emails to someone else’s address.
• Check your Trash folder for any clues as to what the hacker may have done and then deleted.
• Do not use public Wi-Fi.
• Don’t let your web browser remember your passwords.
Finally, never give out your personal information – including login IDs and passwords – to anyone who contacts you unsolicited. Make sure you’re the one initiating important contacts when dealing with your bank, health care provider, or other business.
If you are the victim of online fraud, you should report the incident to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or call your local FBI office.