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Yikes! Email was hacked!
Q: Someone hacked my dad's email account. They are sending messages to his email contacts posing as my father. The email says my father is stranded in Spain and needs $3,000 by Western Union to get home. Is there any way these scammers can be tracked down? The local sheriff's office says they don't go after cybercrime like this. Any suggestions would be helpful. Thank you for your help!
-Paul from Jacksonville, FL listens to my national radio show on WOKV 960 AM
A: I'm really sorry to hear what’s happened to your father. A cry for help from a friend or family member can make us react from emotion. That is exactly what the hacker is hoping.
This type of hacking is happening across many different email services. Whether you use Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, Gmail or another service, you are vulnerable. Either your email account will be compromised or you'll get an email asking for help.
How do the scammers get into an email account? Scammers use specialized programs or hired people to guess passwords. Once they get your email password, they get to work. They send email to your contacts with sob stories that always end with a plea for money.
As you found out, not every state acts on Internet crimes. Many agencies create localized divisions that strictly handle cybercrime. It's also a question of jurisdiction. With many offenses occurring across state and national lines, it's a Federal offense. So, local law enforcement might have no jurisdiction.
In 2009, security software publisher McAfee conducted a survey with Chief Financial Officers worldwide. The global impact of cybercrime was estimated at a whopping one trillion dollars! This includes money scammed and money spent re-securing critical systems.
Now, for people like us recovery from a scam means work. We need to fight to re-establish ourselves online both financially and emotionally. If your email account has been hacked, immediate action is critical. A few things must happen to re-secure your email. Second, you should gather information to report the incident.
Your first priority is to re-gain control of your email account. This includes changing the alternate email address on your account. This "alternate" email address will be the one you used when setting up your account. Sign on to your email account. You will find this option in the Settings menu.
Any changes you make will generate an email to that alternate address. If the hacker changed it, they will receive notices alerting them. That is the first step of taking back control.
Next, you need to change your password to something no one could guess. I don't mean to get on my soapbox but this is the reason you never use the same password for all your online accounts. Once the hackers have access to one of your online accounts, they can access them all.
Don't use a word in the dictionary. Don't use your cat's name or your favorite color. And certainly don't use your date of birth or street address. The more random you make it the better. I've written a ton on passwords. Click here now to read easy ways to create and remember strong passwords here.
If you're unable to gain control of your account, your email provider can help. Each provider has a different method of manually resetting a password. Here are the sites you can visit for the more popular providers.
Hotmail has an account recovery page. To begin the password reset procedure, you can click here.
Gmail's account reset can be accessed from the sign-in page. Just click "Can't access your account?"
Yahoo has an Account Security Help page which can be found here.
AOL also has a link on their login page. Or, you can email compromised@abuse.aol.com. If you email them, they can monitor your account for further hacking.
Keep in mind that they have to follow specific security protocols. Hackers often use the password reset features to hack accounts. So, tech support may seem wary. They will do their best to make sure you're not a hacker yourself.
Finally, locate the security questions you selected when you created your account. They too can be found in the Settings area when you sign-in to your email online. Change these questions and corresponding answers. If the site allows it, create your own. Your mother's maiden name, your dog's name and your favorite team are easy picks for a hacker. Think of something that you would not talk about on Facebook or Twitter. Scammers know to look there for password clues. Create questions that only you would know answers.
Your account should now be secured. Before your friends begin sending money to this imposter, email them. Let anyone you've email-corresponded with know the situation. Check your sent items folder. The hacker might not have deleted the emails he sent.
Either way, let everyone know you're okay and not to send money. But now comes the gritty part gathering information against the hacker.
Hopefully, no one has lost money or got hurt in any way. Even still, it's a crime and should be reported. The Internet Crime Complaint Center is a federally backed cybercrime unit. You can file a complaint electronically by going to www.ic3.gov.
I've written much more on this subject. Here are a few links you might find interesting.
- Old, unused web accounts can be a source of information for hackers. This site can help you get rid of accounts you no longer want.
- Many websites ask for your email address to register. Sometimes it can result in spam. Learn how to avoid being a target for spam.
- Encryption can ward off a large percentage of hackers from your emails. Click here to learn how you can encrypt your own messages.
