A friend recently told me that a friend of her son’s had had his Gmail account password stolen and that they were doing tricks on him, impersonating his identity online. Sometimes it is not necessary for a Russian hacker to steal our Google account to suffer this type of extortion, and many times we only realize it when it is too late.
My Gmail password has been stolen, what do I do?
The first thing we have to keep in mind is that the Gmail password is the same one that allows us to access all Google services, not just mail. With that email account and that password we can also use other Google services. We can use third-party apps on Android, access browsing data and user history, enter Youtube and a thousand other stories (such as accessing bank accounts and other really ugly things).
If our Gmail account has been stolen and we are being impersonated, but we can still access our Google account , the first thing we have to do is follow these 5 steps:
- Check the securityof the account from the ” Review and security ” section. If we see that we have a section in yellow or red, it means that our account is not secure. Take the suggested actions so that all the fields are green.
- Change the access password. You can change your Gmail password by going to https://myaccount.google.com/security . In the “Login to Google” section, click on “Password” to change the current access password for a new one.
- Access the list of devices that have used our Google account and withdraw access to all devices that we do not recognize as ours. Google keeps a record of device activity , which allows us to disconnect any PC or smartphone that has been associated with our Gmail account. To withdraw access to potential hackers, simply click on “Don’t you recognize this device?” and then select “Sign out of device”.
- Access the registry of apps and websitesthat have access to our Google account and deny access to all suspicious apps and websites. Simply select the application from the list that you will see on the screen and click on “Remove access”.
- Activate 2-Step Verificationto increase account security.
Finally, let’s remember that many password thefts come from viruses installed on our computer. Let’s use a good antivirus to make sure that our equipment is not compromised. In THIS POST you can see a list of the best antivirus for Windows.
How to recover a stolen Gmail account with a changed password
The problem in these situations is that the hacker also usually changes the password to access the account . It is possible that he has even changed the associated phone number and recovery email account, completely blocking our access.
However, if we still have the Google account set as the main account on our mobile, we can still try to recover the password.
- We access the Google account recoverypage .
- We enter the Gmail address and the last active password that we remember.
- If the password is not correct and we click on ” Try another way“, Google will send a notification to our Android phone in case we have our Gmail account configured as the main account on the phone.
- If we do not have the phone at hand and we select « Try another way», now Google will ask us to enter the PIN code to unlock the phone.
Finally, if we click on “Try another way” Google will send a link to the Gmail account from where we can change the password (in case we still have access to the Gmail account). Please note that this link will take 6 hours to arrive .
Can we contact Google to report that our account has been hacked?
Previously, Google offered the possibility of recovering the Gmail password by filling out a questionnaire of questions. But unfortunately, this option has not been available for a long time because it does not meet the security standards necessary today.
If we seek technical support from Google we will not have much luck either, since today there is no way to report a stolen account if we do not have a recovery email or linked phone. The only thing we have at our disposal is the Google Help Center , but it only offers the recovery procedures that we have explained a moment ago, without the possibility of contacting a real person to whom we can explain our problem. If this option exists, at least we have not found it.
Tips to secure our Gmail account
If we have already been victims of an attack of this type or simply want to protect ourselves with a higher level of security, consider the following measures:
- Change the access passwordto a secure key of at least 9 characters with uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols. It is important that we do not use this same password in any other service or web page.
- Activate the verification in 2 steps(if we have not done it yet).
- Do not write down the passwordon paper notes or notebooks, or leave them in places where everyone can see them (such as a post-it on the PC screen).
- Work from devices duly protectedwith antivirus, updated operating system and periodic antimalware checks.
- Avoid pirated software, websites of dubious origin and navigate with common sense.
- Be careful with the attached documents that you receive by email. Many malware attacks today are distributed via email using deceptive techniques such as phishing . If you receive an email with a suspicious PDF or attachment, don’t open it.
It is important to mention that most of today’s viruses are not only dedicated to infecting us and “spoiling” our PC, but often the objective is our own Gmail accounts. Today, Google accounts are used to sign in to many other services, make purchases, manage bank details and many other really sensitive information. That for thieves is a very juicy booty, and therefore, it is very important that we protect our Gmail accounts in the best possible way.
Google is already aware of the danger that malware poses to the security of Gmail accounts, and for this reason, when it detects suspicious activity on our device , it can block access from that device to prevent the malware from continuing to operate and stealing from us. the check.
As always, the weakest link in the security chain is always the user himself, so if we want to avoid falling prey to a theft or hack of this type, let’s at least try to make it as difficult as possible for the thief.
