My email account sends spam - what to do?

If you suspect that your email account is sending spam messages, you should act quickly. You can read which steps you should take immediately in this practical tip.

This is how you notice whether your email account sends spam

If your email account has been cracked by hackers, this can go unnoticed for a long time. As a rule, the hacked email accounts are used for the automated sending of spam messages to a variety of addresses. In such cases, you will receive, for example, absence messages from unknown people or error messages that you cannot explain. In these cases, you should listen carefully. You can do that:

1. Log in and change your password

• If you have problems logging in, your account has most likely been hacked.
• In this case, use the "Forgot password" or "Reset password" function from your email provider.
• Assign a new password or log in with the login data you received.
• Change your password after logging in. We explain how to create a secure password in our video and this manual.

2. Check the outbox and your alternative contact email address

• If there are mails in your outbox that you have not sent, your account has been misused by third parties. If necessary, you should inform the recipients so that you too can take safety precautions.
• So that your account cannot be easily taken over again later, you should check your alternative contact email address. You can usually find this in the settings of your mail provider.
• If this has been changed, hackers could otherwise simply have a new password sent to them later.

3. Secure your email account twice, if possible.

• Check the possibility of whether your email provider offers two-factor authentication.
• In this practical tip, we explain what two-factor authentication (2FA) is all about.

4. Check your mail programs and your computer.

• If you have changed your password online, you must also change this in your mail programs on your computer, tablet or smartphone.
• To ensure that only your email account was affected by an attack and that no malware has crept into your computer, you should check it.
• In this article, we explain how you can use the Freeware Combofix to scan your computer for malware and other malware.