Us virtual assistants spend most of our time online. Indeed, our lives pretty much depend on the Internet, and many of us use emails as our primary and most secure means to communicate with our clients, colleagues, and prospects.
Despite the many security measures put up by email service providers, emails, unfortunately, are not 100% invulnerable to malicious attacks. Someone, somewhere could still end up getting ahold of your password, or straight up hack their way into your inbox. All it takes is skill, the right tools, and just enough patience and determination in the part of the attacker.
Now what should you do in cases when someone has managed to hack your email address, taking over it, or somehow just locked you out of your own inbox?
Here are the steps that you should take.
- Secure your email. If you can still access your account, the very first thing that you should do is to change your password. Change every other security details as well, including answers to security questions and the like. Be sure to review your email settings as well; check for and delete unrecognized forwarding email addresses and see to it that your signature block is yours and has no malicious links.
- Change the passwords as well as the security questions of your accounts in other sites. Assuming that the email hacked is your primary email, we can safely say that this is connected to your accounts in other sites across the Internet. Your email has been compromised, so change your passwords, security questions, etc. if you don\’t want the hacker to take down your other accounts as well.
- Notify your contacts that you are compromised. You can notify your contacts via social media or email (assuming that you can still access your email) that your account has been compromised and that they should treat all communications coming from you with suspicion until the whole debacle is over. For close friends and professional associates, you might want to provide them with alternative means to contact you.
- Get help from your email service provider. If you have been locked out of your email account, you can get help from the email service in question. There are troubleshooting guides available in your email service\’s website and you only need to follow the directions in order to recover your account.
- Scan your computer for malware. Hackers usually steal your passwords by installing information-stealing malware into your computer. Hence, it is wise to update your anti-virus and scan your computer for threats. Do make use of other proven malware removal software as well, like Malwarebytes.
- Monitor and update your financial accounts. VAs are usually paid through online financial transactions, so it is safe to assume that your email may be connected to your PayPal or bank accounts. The hack may have not only compromised your email but also stolen important details like your social security number, so be sure to monitor your financial accounts for activities you deem suspicious. Meanwhile, you should also update the security details of your bank accounts for good measure.
