“Why am I receiving spam email from my own email address” is one of the most asked questions I hear. When you are receiving emails from your own account, there are 2 possibilities at play:
- Your email account has been hacked and used to send spam
- Your email address has been spoofed
Email hacking and spoofing are two common ways spammers and scammers use to exploit email users. Email Hacking occurs when someone gains unauthorized access to your email account and uses it to send spam or malicious emails. Email Spoofing, on the other hand, happens when a spammer sends an email using your email address in the From field to make it LOOK like it came from you.
Both hacking and spoofing can be dangerous, as they can compromise your personal and sensitive information, damage your reputation or your business reputation, and infect your computer with malware.
If this is an ongoing problem, one possible solution is Shroud Email. Shroud helps you hide your email from spammers, hackers, advertisers and creeps.
What to Do When You Suspect Your Email Account Has Been Hacked or Spoofed
Check Your Sent Folder
The first thing you should do when you suspect your email account has been hacked is to check your sent folder. Check the sent folder of your computer or device. But more importantly – log in to your email hosting control panel or email account’s webmail and see if there are any emails in your sent folder that you did not send. If you find any suspicious emails in your sent folder, it’s likely that your email account has been hacked. That means, they have cracked your password and are accessing your account to send emails.
Change Your Password
If you discover that your email account has been hacked, change your email password immediately. Make sure to create a strong and unique password that includes a mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. This should stop the hacker’s access to your account and prevent future breaches.
Tips for Creating a Secure Password
Now I know everyone hates those crazy long passwords, but their craziness is what can save you from future breaches. Here are my tips for creating and remembering secure passwords.
- Choose a memorable word or phrase
- Swap our some of the letters with similar numbers or characters. EG replace I with 1 or ! (But don’t stop there, that is still easy to crack)
- Now append to the front of the password 2-3 letters that represent the particular site you are on. EG if for a Hotmail email address use HO or HL
- Then add to the end of the password 2 numbers that represent the year EG 23 for 2023 or maybe your birth year 64 for 1964
This is a clever tip, as you only need to remember that memorable word. And if you use it frequently, you are not likely to forget it. However, by appending letters and numbers to the front and back of that word you will create a unique password for every account you have. It is also good practice to update your passwords, so if you use the current year at the end, you can simply update those numbers each year.
Report the Incident
After changing your password, report the incident to your email service provider or hosting company. Let them know that you have been receiving emails from your own email address or that you are getting a lot of email bounces and suspect you have been hacked. They may be able to provide additional assistance or investigate the breach.
What Is Email Spoofing?
Email Spoofing is a type of cyberattack in which a spammer sends an email that appears to come from a legitimate email address, such as your own. The aim is to trick the recipient into thinking that the email is genuine and to click on a link or download a file, often containing malware or phishing scams.
It is important to know – that Email Spoofing is easily done! Even though it “looks” like it has come from your own address, that is just a trick spammers use on you. The message actually originates from the spammer’s email account and is sent from the spammer’s email server.
How to Tell if You Have Been Spoofed
If you suspect that your email address has been spoofed, look out for the following signs:
- You receive mailer-daemon error messages (bounced emails) or returned emails in your inbox that do not match any messages you sent out.
- You get unexpected emails or messages from people who received email from you that you did not send.
What Should You Do if You Have Been Spoofed?
Unfortunately, there is no surefire way to stop spoofing. But the good news is, your actual email account is safe. However, you can take the following steps to secure your email account and protect yourself from further attacks:
- Change your email password to a strong and unique one.
- Be vigilant about phishing and email scams. Never click on a link if you’re not expecting it.
- Check the sender’s email address carefully and do not click on links or download files from unknown or suspicious sources.
- Pay close attention to the spelling in email addresses and URL links in the email. If the spelling is suspicious do not click.
- Install reliable antivirus software and keep it updated.
- If in doubt, do not click!
Which is the Best Email Provider to Guard Against Being Hacked and Spoofed?
I use and recommend Google’s Gmail for both personal and business emails. Having tried many email service providers – Hotmail, Outlook, Live, TPG. Google’s Email Service has proven to be the most reliable, secure and deals with spam coming into my inbox really well. Improve your email security through Google Workspace for Business. And YES – you can have your own business domain emails coming through Google Workspace.
Shroud.email is another tool that exists to resolve the problem of hackers and spammers taking advantage of our emails. The next time a website asks for an email use Shroud.email to create a unique alias that hides your real email.
