ALBERTON – On Friday, July 24, a reporter from the Alberton RECORD received and email from a client requesting a monetary loan.
The unedited email reads, “How are you? hope all is well with you sorry to bother you I’m actually in need of a loan, i have decided to request this from you. its just a token and i intend to refund back by next week. please are you able to loan me this funds. Sent from my iPad. On Fri, Jul 24, 2015 at 12:58 PM”.
The writing style was dissimilar to the client’s usual communication and the reporter opted to reply with an email asking if the client was alright but in turn received no response.
On Monday the reporter received the following email from the client:
“Greetings all my family and friends. My sincere apologies! My email account was hacked on Friday morning and the person had been messaging all my contacts. They changed my password so I had no idea what was going on until some of you phoned me.
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“By then I couldn’t access my email account as they had changed the password. Fortunately Google helped me retrieve my account today. Thank you for all the calls, warnings, encouragements and love.
“It was really disturbing as this was the first time something like this happened to me. This incident shows just how easy something like this can happen!”
Nicolas Stephenson, from Wardew Design and Automation, says information has become a big asset in today’s society and that stolen information can potentially ruin someone’s life. People need to learn how to protect their information. We spend a lot of time securing our physical assets but many persons do not take any measures to secure their information.
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wikiHow provides helpful hints on how to protect your email account from being hacked.
Every email service provider, be it Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail has different security measures. All of these companies provide timely security steps to protect user’s accounts which includes emails reminding customers to update or change their password.
Tips on how to protect your email:
- Have a complicated email address, not so you will forget it, but so that no one will be able to guess it.
- Your email should contain a number. For example John023@_____.com
- Have a secure password. Passwords are there to protect your account so make sure it is complicated. Do not use your name or last name. The first thing that hackers will do is to guess your password based on your name. Don’t use a phrase or a pet name that most people know about. Do not put in ‘MyPetMaddy’. Try to use a complicated code like ‘mkael092’ or ‘09484M92’, so it is impossible to guess. Choose a password you have not previously used on your account before.
- Protect your computer. Your email address and password is completely at risk if your computer is wireless, does not use antivirus software and is used not just by you. Download free antivirus software by going to www.avast.com.
- Your email ID and its password are confidential information. No company’s employee will ever ask you for your password in an unsolicited phone call or email message. The sender is a hacker who wants to gain access to your account and send spam emails, asking money from your contacts or allow an unauthorized third party to send spam or fraudulent emails to your contact list. If you are a victim of such a scenario, please contact your email provider immediately. Every company has an account verification department which provides instant telephonic support. By changing your password immediately, you quickly minimize the resulting risk to your account.
- You should change the security questions and answers wisely.
The answer to a good security question:
- Cannot be easily guessed or researched
- Doesn’t change over time
- Is memorable
- Is simple or definitive
- A string of three to four words in a row is more memorable and more secure than a shorter and more difficult password. Length matters more than difficulty when you’re dealing with a hacker that uses a program.
- Keep a copy of your password written down somewhere
- Do not open attachments from unfamiliar sources
- Do not tell anyone your password.
- Do not keep a copy of your email details on the internet or on your PC system.
The internet is used by everyone and anyone. Be careful what you post over email accounts, no matter how safe you think you are, the internet will never be safe.
