One of the major risks of scammers having your email address is that they'll use it to hack into your other online accounts. With your email address, they can request password resets, try entering your other passwords that have been leaked online, and even break into your email account.
What can a scammer do with your email? Stolen credentials allow a scammer to send malicious messages or malware links to your contacts, extract personal or financial information from your saved messages, or get your friends and family to send money to them under false pretenses.
Through a suspicious email, the hacker can put malware on your computer or mobile device. This malware can track you and gain access to even more of your personal information. In particular, the malware will look for access to your bank account and credit cards, which they can use for identity theft.
It's also possible hackers could use your email account to gain access to your bank account or credit card information, draining funds from an account, or racking up charges. They might even use your email and password to sign up for online sites and services, sticking you with monthly fees in the process.
Never provide information to someone who contacts you. Ask for the name of the organization that contacted you, find their number independently and contact them directly. If you bear in mind that email can get you in trouble, and act accordingly, you can save yourself a lot of grief.
No, don't delete your email, even after it's been hacked. This is because most email providers will recycle old and deleted email addresses. If you're concerned, stop using your email for sending or receiving messages, but don't delete it.
Can hackers watch through your camera? If a hacker installs spyware on your phone then there is a good chance they will be able to access your camera and turn it on/off as they please. They may also be able to access any photos or videos you have previously taken.
Step 1: Change your passwords
On accounts or devices that contain sensitive information, make sure your password is strong, unique—and not easily guessable. Adding your birthday to your mother's maiden name won't cut it.
If scammers know your name and address, they can target you with phishing campaigns, spoofed advertisements, and fake offers. Any information you give them can be used to fully steal your identity.
If a hacker has your email address, he has half of your confidential information – all that's remaining is your password. And they can gain that by sending you a phishing email saying that your account has been accessed from a new device or compromised.
Most email services do not allow you to change your existing email address. In order to change your email address, you'll need to create a new account. You can use the same email service you've been using, or you can take this opportunity to switch to a service that better meets your needs. Decide on an email service.
After some period of time, it should be safe to delete or disable your old email address. Some people wait as long as one year to ensure all entities, including state and local taxes and bills, have been changed. In addition, as soon as you perform these steps, you should not send any email from your old email address.
Changing your passwords may not mitigate all the damage from malware or a successful phishing expedition. Still, it can keep future attackers or scammers from accessing your accounts or impersonating you further. Use a different device from the affected one to change your account password.
Yes, your email account can be hacked without a password if you click on a malicious link, download an infected attachment, or use a compromised public Wi-Fi network. Hackers use these methods to access your email account and steal your personal information or send spam messages from your account.
Many email services offer the ability to check your login activity and show the IP addresses or locations where your account has been accessed from. It may also show the browsers and/or devices used. If you see locations or devices you don't recognize, it's possible someone is tampering with your account.
Fraudsters can try to access your online accounts (i.e., social media or banking) using your phone number. They can send a password reset to your phone and even trick automated systems into thinking they are you.
Yes, you should be able to remove a hacker by doing a factory reset on your phone. Keep in mind that this solution will remove all of your data, including contacts, third-party apps, photos, and other files. You will need to set up your phone entirely from scratch.
The short answer is yes, in most cases. Viruses are typically embedded in malicious files or apps on your phone, and since a factory reset removes all of your files it will often remove the offending virus or malware, too. However, a factory reset isn't a guarantee that the virus will go away.
Phishing for passwords
Phishing is one of the most common ways that hackers gain access to other people's login data. Phishing emails often contain links that lead to fake websites designed to trick you into entering your password.
One of the biggest hacks in history is the Equifax data breach that happened in 2017. Equifax, a credit reporting agency, had several security lapses that enabled attackers to access sensitive PII, date of birth, social security numbers, address, driver's license numbers, etc., of over 143 million customers.
Unfortunately, some attackers want to steal your data just to prove that they can. They are not motivated by monetary gain, access to free resources or the ability to steal your users' identities. They simply want to prove to themselves – and their hacker friends, perhaps – that they can break past your defenses.