Spammers use a variety of methods to send spam, but the use of hacked legitimate users email accounts is booming. According to Verizon's 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, 1 in 131 emails contained malware in 2016, the highest rate in 5 years. In addition, the amount of spam spewing into inboxes globally is at its highest rate since 2015. This is related to malware like Emotet andTrickbot stealing email addresses to feed spam campaigns. Phishing has evolved. Learn 11 ways hackers are angling for your data and how to protect yourself in thisguide.As positive as crackdowns on other channels have been, one outcome is that spammers have scrambled to shift the focus of some of the recent larger malware outbreaks and phishing attacks to now be about acquiring enough compromised email accounts to make spamming viable. This includes email accounts like yours. How was my email hacked?Your computer was most likely compromised in one of four ways:
What to do after your email was hackedWhen your email account is hacked, here are several steps you need to taketo fix the problem and prevent it from happening again:
As mentioned, it's fairly common for malware to be the avenue through which an email account is hacked. Having an up-to-date internet security solution is the essential first step in establishing online safety and ensuring your email isn't hacked. Webroot offers a full line of internet security solutions for the home to keep your email password out of the hands of hackers. |