Is Your Email Safe?
You log into your Gmail and something’s not quite right. You can’t immediately put your finger on it, but it looks like your display has changed a little—you initially shrug it off as Google updating their system.
But then you notice unusual emails in your Sent folder and replies to emails you don’t remember sending in your Inbox. What is going on? Could your Gmail account have been hacked?
The reality is that a quarter of online accounts are hacked—and it’s entirely possible for your email account to have been hacked, giving someone access to banking information, your calendar, contacts and, the ability to impersonate and extort money from you, your business and family members and friends.
The fact is, we’ve actually seen, first hand, hacks into Gmail accounts. What’s scary is someone hacking into your email may change the settings so that you don’t even know it’s happening until it’s too late. Hackers can set up account rules in your Gmail account to redirect messages from your Inbox to theirs and to trash any emails they send out as you. That means, your colleagues, associates and acquaintances—anyone in your contacts—may have been contacted, unknowingly engaged in some malicious activity or had fallen victim to cybercrime all because of a hacked Gmail account.
And if your business is relying on Gmail or other free services for your business mail, you are risking your reputation, your data, your contacts—basically everything—to hackers that can and have gotten into many Gmail accounts.
Did you know that you’re more than 36 times more likely to get scammed online after your contacts’ accounts have been hacked—a statistic that Google publically announced!
And don’t be concerned with just your contacts being compromised. When someone hacks into your accounts, they are looking for as much data as they can get their hands on—bank accounts, credit card numbers are often a big target—and since you have a list of contacts (some of which may be answers to your security questions)—if they get access to your personal account, they might have everything they need to steal your identity and spend your money.
What’s startling is hackers can steal your accounts in less than a day! Once they gain access to your login credentials, the average criminal can take over your account in seven hours or less. And if you’ve got a pro hacking your account, they often can do it in 30 minutes! And they certainly can update your password to keep you out.
And don’t believe they’ll stop with your bank accounts! They’ll go after your contacts, emailing them some story that you were stranded somewhere and in need of help fast—while some folks may be witty enough to see through scams, on average half of recipients of email from a friend they trust will believe the story.
What could be worse than that? Once they’ve hacked all the data from your account, some hackers will delete ALL your emails and contacts to prevent you from warning anyone of a breach. Google does provide an option to recover your account, but that’s only if you can recover it in the first place.
We’ve had to deal with users having their Gmail hacked. And I can tell you it’s no fun. I’d rather not have to explain how someone broke into their account, stole their data and contacts and how we can’t be sure everything is accounted for—because we can’t monitor Gmail as closely to email coming into a server.
So, what are some precautions you can take to make sure you don’t become the next Gmail hacking victim?
- Don’t EVER email your username or password to ANYONE. And before you start typing in your login information, check the URL to make sure you’re actually at Gmail.
- Sign up for account alerts on your phone or another email. If you see suspicious activity, act fast and nip it in the bud!
- Sign up for two-step authentication—Google and other free services have started to offer a second way to verify that you are the actual person logging into an account. You have the option of receiving a text message to verify your login. It might take a bit more time, but it will be worth it in the end. Everyone on Google should use it—no if’s, and’s or but’s!
And if you suspect of being hacked, here are a few steps to direct you back on track:
- Change your password—this might be a no-brainer, but essential part to getting your account back. Make sure you have a secure password.
- Check and fix your email settings—as we mentioned above, hackers may change your email settings—possibly directing specific emails with login info, bank statements, etc. to an external account. Make sure that you don’t have mail forwarding to an unrecognized account.
- Scan your computer for malware—After any breach, you really want to make sure your ducks are in a row. Even a small chance that some malware got into your system can cause devastation if left undetected.
- Make sure your computer has all updates and patches installed—It goes without saying that any computer vulnerabilities—patches or updates—should be fulfilled after a breach to make sure that very same hacker (or someone else) doesn’t continue to steal information from you.
The Bottom Line: Relying on Gmail to run a business is too risky. If you’re investing in infrastructure to protect you, your team and your company’s data from prying eyes, using Gmail gives hackers an even easier way in—and it may take a long time for anyone to notice. You need a provider that cares about you, cares about your team—essentially someone that cares about your business. Big free cloud platforms may seem great—that is until something goes wrong when there’s little to no customer service and support to get you back on track.
If you’re using an insecure emailing system or are concerned about email hacks, give us a call TODAY to set up a free assessment.
