# My email address is sending out spam



## Pergamum (Jan 19, 2012)

Nope, that wasn't me...

I never greet people with "aloha" and I am not a Claims Adjustor nor do I own an Arcade Casino. (I guess the email content could have been more embarrassing)... and sorry, I have no work from home opportunities for you....

So, it looks like I have been hacked or a spambot got my email account and sent advertisements to everyone on my email list.


So, what do I do now?

Change my password? Is this enough? Do I need to change my whole email address (I've had it for 10 years and I get a good amount of spam on it).

Once this happens, will it recur? How do I stop it?

Do I need to check for viruses?



Also, we just purchased an ipod touch for the kids and I have been downloading a lot of apps for school and for kindergarten. So, this requires leaving your internet connection intact and unattended for some time. Could this have been the way in which this happened? Can Ipod apps contain viruses? How might this have happened?


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## MarieP (Jan 19, 2012)

Change your password immediately!!!! I don't know what to do after that, but that is always the first step in anything like this.


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## Herald (Jan 19, 2012)

Spam, Spam, egg, and Spam.


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## ChariotsofFire (Jan 20, 2012)

I think you can and should keep your email account. 
Take the following steps to make sure the hacker/hacker program will stop sending spam:

1. Scan your computer for viruses. If you need a free scan:
HouseCall - Free Online Virus Scan - Trend Micro USA
2. Login and Change your password. 
3. Use a strong password (at least 8 characters, not based on a dictionary word )
What's a good password?
Security Guide for Windows - Random Password Generator
3. Change all your secret answers to get into your account.
4. Email your contacts telling them it was a mistake


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## Pergamum (Jan 20, 2012)

Trying to change my password. Hotmail says they locked me out of my hotmail account and that I need to "recover" my locked account. They directed me to a page for me to list personal info in order to provide proof. It looks fishy, but has the hotmail logo on it.


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## ChariotsofFire (Jan 20, 2012)

I think it should be ok as long as you started from hotmail.com.


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## Peairtach (Jan 20, 2012)

I just changed my password on my hotmail account when this happened to me. That fixed it. I chose a stronger password.


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## Andres (Jan 20, 2012)

This happened to me in November. To this day I have no idea how, but someone hacked my google account. Some of you on here received emails from me stating I was stuck in Cairo Egypt and needed a few thousand dollars to get home. I was not able to access my account because they had changed the password. Like Perg mentioned Google wanted me to verify my idendity by jumping through a bunch of hoops. It was a pain and I feared that I would have to start from scratch with a new email account. Not only did they have my email, but my google account also accesses my blog, my google+, etc. The way I finally got my account back was that I emailed the hacker from my state email. .He had emailed me there too posing as myself. Confusing huh? Well I replied back from my state email address and simply asked him if he would give me my password back and he did!


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## Semper Fidelis (Jan 20, 2012)

This is one reason I prefer Gmail with it's two-factor authentication. I also have 2FA enabled for Facebook.


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## seajayrice (Jan 20, 2012)

So you're not selling Viagra at unbeatable prices?


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## Berean (Jan 20, 2012)

seajayrice said:


> So you're not selling Viagra at unbeatable prices?



Or Rolex watches? That's not you I've been hearing from?


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## FedByRavens (Jan 20, 2012)

This happened to one of my Pastor friends a few months ago. My jaw hit the floor when I got an Email from him that had a link, and it said "A relationship saver!" When I clicked on the link it was a Viagra advertisement. I was so thankful when I received a text from him later explaining the ordeal. He has had to change addresses, I still get junk like that from his old account.


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## Chellemonkey (Jan 23, 2012)

Something like this often happens when you use the same/similar names and password on different accounts, for example, a webstore. Sometimes it is a disreputable store or possibly they themselves got hacked. Changing your password should take care of it for you and you shouldn't need to change your email address. Make sure when going to change your password you start from the website you mean to go to (type the address in the address bar don't click a link in an email!) Also, check the url and make sure it contains the website you are expecting, for example, it should contain hotmail not hotemail or something. It also could have been from clicking a link in another email you received, I have seen that happen many times on facebook.

Just a tip for future reference, I use a separate email for giving to real people and for using to sign up for things online. If you use gmail you can easily set up your inbox to forward everything you receive to your regular email address, that way you can read everything in the same place but not have your regular email address on other sites


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