Learning that your personal email has been hacked can be scary and nerve-wracking. Taking preventative measures as well as educating yourself on the most current cyber security information can help prevent and ease the repercussions of an email hack. Here are a few items to consider if your personal email has been hacked:
- Change your password immediately. Ideally, you want to use a password that is long (over 10 characters), complex and not used for any other accounts.
- Set up a 2-factor authentication. This authentication process is available for most email service providers. The 2-factor authentication would allow for a code to be sent to your phone in order to log in, in addition to the password entered.
- Notify financial institutions (banks, custodians, financial advisors) in order for them to monitor any suspicious activity on your accounts. As an added precaution, change your passwords to these websites, especially if you’ve used the same or similar passwords.
- Consider sending an email to your contacts warning them not to click on any suspicious looking emails from you.
- Check your email settings to make sure that nothing was changed. Often, hackers will re-direct emails or place an auto forward rule in your inbox to re-route certain emails.
- Make sure all of your antivirus software is set up to update automatically, which will help patch the weaknesses that hackers prey on to contaminate your computer.
Your email is an important aspect of your identity and is increasingly used to manage all aspects of one’s life. You can manage security risks by being prudent, discrete and up to date on the latest trends.
Disclaimers: Callan Capital does not provide individual tax or legal advice, nor does it provide financing services. Clients should review planned financial transactions and wealth transfer strategies with their own tax and legal advisors. Callan Capital outsources to lending and financial institutions that directly provide our clients with, securities based financing, residential and commercial financing and cash management services. For more information, please refer to our most recent Form ADV Part 2A which may be found at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov