Hotmail hijacked? Here’s what to do

[JMH]

Hotmail hijacked? Here’s what to do

Most of us have received suspicious email that looks like it came from someone on our contact list. These emails could contain a virus or other type of malware, or they could be a scam designed to trick you into turning over personal information or money.

Did the person from your contact list suddenly become a cybercriminal? Probably not. It's more likely that someone has gained access to their email account and is using the account for malicious activity. This is known as hijacking. If you think someone's account has been hijacked, you can try to let them know by contacting them by phone or by an alternative email address if you have one.
I think my own Hotmail account has been hijacked. What should I do?
If your Hotmail account has been hijacked, follow these steps from the Windows Live Solution Center:

1. Can you still sign in? If you can, then go to Account.Live.com and change your password.
2. Are you asked for your cell phone number after signing in? At sign in, Hotmail might ask for a cell phone number in order to send a text message with a secret code for you to enter. This helps prevent spammers from using your account.
3. If you can't sign in, try resetting your password:

• If you set up a location and secret question on your account, you can enter the answer to reset your password. Go to reset your password and select Use my location information and secret answer to verify my identity.
• If you set up an alternative email address on your account, you can send yourself a password reset link. Go to reset your password and select Send password reset instructions to me in e-mail.

None of the above options worked. What do I do now?
If you can't sign in or reset your password, go to the Windows Live Validation page, and submit the requested information. This process takes time (from 48 to 72 hours) so only use this if the previous options don't work for you.
The validation process will ask for key information about your account that only you would be able to provide. This allows Hotmail to verify that you are the legitimate owner of the account.
For more information, go to http://windowslivehelp.com/accountrecovery

Source
Hotmail hijacked? Here

 

[zigzag3143]

Nice Post Jan. Its in Read it later for future reference

 

[noobvious]

Thanks Jan.....link sent to my uncle who was hacked.

 

[Mothered]

Although I'm aware of this, your documentation Is certainly well worth forwarding on to friends.
Thank you.

 

[Imperfect1]

Thanks for the information, JMH. I WAS hacked about 3 -4 months ago (for the 2nd time, no less) and it was getting very serious. I did not want to change my email for a number of reasons, so I had to take whatever steps I could to stop the hacking. First I changed my password and secret question, but that didn't help. What did help though was to delete all of the names + addresses in my contact list. No contact list, no way of infecting the contact list. It's really a pain in the a$$ to have to go to my MS Word page (on which I copied my contact list) if I need to send an email --- but it's better than having to change my email address with all the vendors who have it and all of the websites where I routinely use it. (And I can get a lot of the email addresses I need from my inbox list, so it's not so terrible.) Oh, by the way, another thing I started doing, that is very simple, but I had never bothered to do it before, is that EVERY time I leave my email website, instead of just closing the screen, I take the time to actually log off. I think that being permanently logged on leaves you very open (literally and figuratively) to being hacked, whereas if your email url is officially closed, maybe, at least some of the hacking technology can't hack the site.

 

[Corrine]

I advise anyone with a Hotmail account to follow the steps so their account can be easily verified. Screen captures of the verification options in my old blog post.

 

[Fayla]

It's risky enough using full SSL secured email services (Google Mail, etc) over a public network (hotspot, etc) because if the connection drops out of secured mode, everything is in the open. It's much worse though with services that only encrypt the login then used this rand key service (Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.)

My personally policy is never to log into my emails / shop online while using a public network, as there's no way to know if someone is using a packet sniffer in the network.

Besides, I've noticed some differences between a normal and premium Hotmail account. On my free account, there is no pin option. While on my premium Hotmail account that I got from the University I attended last year-- it had a four pin security option.

Thanks for the information, JMH. I WAS hacked about 3 -4 months ago (for the 2nd time, no less) and it was getting very serious. I did not want to change my email for a number of reasons, so I had to take whatever steps I could to stop the hacking. First I changed my password and secret question, but that didn't help. What did help though was to delete all of the names + addresses in my contact list. No contact list, no way of infecting the contact list. It's really a pain in the a$$ to have to go to my MS Word page (on which I copied my contact list) if I need to send an email --- but it's better than having to change my email address with all the vendors who have it and all of the websites where I routinely use it. (And I can get a lot of the email addresses I need from my inbox list, so it's not so terrible.) Oh, by the way, another thing I started doing, that is very simple, but I had never bothered to do it before, is that EVERY time I leave my email website, instead of just closing the screen, I take the time to actually log off. I think that being permanently logged on leaves you very open (literally and figuratively) to being hacked, whereas if your email url is officially closed, maybe, at least some of the hacking technology can't hack the site.

 

[Corrine]

It's risky enough using full SSL secured email services (Google Mail, etc) over a public network (hotspot, etc) because if the connection drops out of secured mode, everything is in the open. It's much worse though with services that only encrypt the login then used this rand key service (Hotmail, Yahoo, etc.)

My personally policy is never to log into my emails / shop online while using a public network, as there's no way to know if someone is using a packet sniffer in the network.

Besides, I've noticed some differences between a normal and premium Hotmail account. On my free account, there is no pin option. While on my premium Hotmail account that I got from the University I attended last year-- it had a four pin security option.

Although it is a good safety practice not to use access secure sites at such times, for times when you will be using a public computer (i.e., at an internet cafe, airport, coffee shop), with Hotmail, all it takes is clicking "request a code", and a one-time use authentication code will be sent to a private proof point (mobile phone or alternate e-mail address). By using a single-use code on a public computer instead of your password, you avoid the chances of it being stolen by key-loggers.

 

[lorddenis]

Are you asked for your cell phone number after signing in? At sign in, Hotmail might ask for a cell phone number in order to send a text message with a secret code for you to enter. This helps prevent spammers from using your account.

i dont know about you but i wont give my phone number anywhere on the internet.

thanks for the post!

 

[Corrine]

I also skipped adding my cell phone number. I don't use text messaging anyway. However, with the alternate e-mail address, secret question and trusted PC, there are still those options for recovering an account.

 

[Imperfect1]

I advise anyone with a Hotmail account to follow the steps so their account can be easily verified. Screen captures of the verification options in my old blog post.

All of the posters have good suggestions, but your blog, Hotmail Security to Protect and Recover Your Account, is excellent Corrine. Rep + to you.

 

[Corrine]

Wow! Thank you very much, Imperfect1, for the kind words and rep.