3 Remedies for Compromised Mail Accounts
How many email accounts do you have? Are you aware of the consequences of compromised email accounts?
The consequence of your email account being compromised could be devastating. Most online platforms or service sites, such as social media platforms, shopping sites, travel platforms, etc. require registration with your email address, if not using it as a login name as well. The risk is often not localised to that single email account if it has been compromised.
For one, criminals are likely to try to break into your other similar email accounts with the stolen password. For example, if your email account chantaiman123@abc.com is stolen, the fraudster may try to log in to other similar mailboxes, such as chantaiman123@xyz.com or chantaiman123@cba.com, with the same password.
In addition, as many major online platforms use email addresses as login names, fraudsters may also try to log in with stolen email addresses and passwords, such as popular online shopping platforms and social media platforms. If you use the same login password, your other accounts are highly likely to be compromised, which makes it easy to cheat money off your friends and family in your name.
To avoid the chain effect of having all accounts with the same password compromised, try not to use the same password for everything.
If your email account is sadly compromised, try the following 3 remedies:
- Change your password immediately
When you suspect that your account has been hacked or stolen, try to log in to your account as soon as possible to change your password to prevent further criminal attacks. Do this on all devices and other platforms that use similar email accounts to keep each account secure.
When setting up a password, use a unique and complex one for each email account, and enable the two-step verification function, so you still need a verification code to log in or change settings on an unfamiliar device.
- Check your email settings
Some hackers may change your settings to forward your email to them after successfully stealing your email account, so that they can get more of your personal information. For example, by receiving a one-time login password through a stolen email, hackers can change the login information of your other accounts, even online banking.
Therefore, once you find that your email has been stolen, it is important to check carefully for any changes to your email settings.
- Scan for malware in a timely manner
When your account is hacked, immediately check your computer and other devices for malicious software to find hidden viruses or other malicious programs.
24-hour monitoring to ensure data security
Remedies are never as effective as preventive measures.
TransUnion’s “Dark Web Monitoring Service”can scan every corner of the dark web 24/7 for any data leak, checking for any criminals who have disclosed and sold your personal details, including your name, ID number, email address, phone number, credit card and other information. Once discovered, the system will send you an alert so that you can take appropriate action in time.
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