Have you ever received an unexpected email from a friend asking you to wire him money because he’s stranded in Spain? If so, his email has probably been hacked. It happens all the time, and next time you might be the one at risk.
The two most crucial things you should do when someone hacks into your email account are:
Check your money
If you think you’ve been hacked, immediately check your accounts. Call your credit card companies and inform them of the breach. Ask for new cards. If you don’t inform your credit card company you’ve been hacked, and there are unidentified charges on your account, you could be liable to pay.
Call your bank and brokerage firm and have them require phone authorization before moving money. If you can move money online (trading, paying bills, etc.) suspend those services while you confirm that no one is stealing from you, until you reset all passwords. Even if you don’t see current evidence of theft, that may be because the hacker is waiting for you to become careless before he goes back in. He may wait weeks or months before engaging in a second attack against you. Hackers know that if someone was careless once, he’ll probably be careless again.
Reset your passwords
Inform your email list that you’ve been hacked. Apart from warning your friends about the risks, you can stop them from engaging in an email conversation with the hacker. That could expose more information about you, which could ultimately allow the hacker to figure out your passwords or steal your identity. Choose a password that is obscure enough to be hard for anyone else to figure out. As hackers trawl social media sites for people who’ve given away sensitive information like their dates of birth or graduation years, you should never use birthdays or anniversaries in your passwords.
While dangerous and annoying, it is possible to overcome the security threat of a hacker. Pay close attention to your accounts, reset passwords, and be in touch with your financial institutions to safeguard you, and your money, from the real potential of a security breach.
Douglas Goldstein, CFP®️ is the director of Profile Investment Services, Ltd. www.Profile-Financial.com He is a licensed financial professional both in the U.S. and Israel. Call (02) 624-2788 for a consultation on how to set up your American assets to meet your financial goals. Securities offered through Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. Member FINRA, SIPC, MSRB, FSI. The opinions expressed are those of the author and not those of Portfolio Resources Group, Inc. or its affiliates. Neither PRG nor its affiliates give tax or legal advice.
Published May 4, 2015. Updated September 2022.