Reveal your login details? Never. Everyone knows that a strong password is important to avoid hacking. However, cybercriminals are very cunning these days and can get your password without you even realising it. Once they get hold of your email data, your professional or personal data is up for grabs too. We can tell you how they’ll hack into your mailboxes and what they can get from it.
Email hacking: how?
An advertisement via social media, a newsletter in your mailbox, … Hackers excel in drafting and distributing professional-looking communications. If you click on their message, you will be taken to a login screen that has exactly the same look and feel as your trusty mail programme. If you do not check the website link or the design for errors, you may just log in and leave your info behind. Usually, a pop-up with an error message appears and you have to log in a second time. This incident is quickly forgotten. However, by entering your email address and password on a malicious page, you give cybercriminals access to your mailbox and perhaps to other platforms as well.
Email hacking: why?
Getting information | Your mailbox is more than a collection of emails. It contains your contacts, business partners, interesting attachments, confidential figures, mobile phone numbers, job titles, etc. Your tone of voice also gives attackers a good head start for future actions. Intruders may follow your email traffic for weeks or months before they take action. Sometimes they even install automatic rules to forward or hide your mails. Identity theft | Popular applications such as Dropbox, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Office365 or your company intranet, are often accessible with the same login details. Gathering all this information creates an interesting overall profile for hackers. You should avoid using the same password on various platforms to protect yourself against identity theft. Money transfers | Account data can be used to persuade your bank to transfer money. Bank employees are trained to see through these tricks, but without an alert bank teller, your money can disappear to a foreign account in a few clicks. Earning money | Some hackers hope that your data is worth money and sell it via the dark web.
Want expert advice? Netcure is crazy about cybersecurity! We come into contact with victims of email hacking on a weekly basis and follow hacking trends closely. With good security, you can make life difficult for cybercriminals.
