We’ve all received them — fake emails from a supposedly trusted contact’s account. They appear to be real at first because your friend’s first and last names are shown as the sender. You might be asked to urgently wire cash to a friend who’s been mugged on vacation or you might be asked to click a link which then installs spyware on your machine unbeknownst to you.
The most vulnerable types of accounts are “webmail” accounts which can be accessed from any computer — which means, if you have a Yahoo or Gmail account (as most of us do these days), you are susceptible to this kind of attack! If you haven’t been victimized yet, it may be only a matter of time. I recommend changing your password to a secure type as soon as possible to minimize the possibility [see my previous post].
But how can you know if your online accounts have been compromised? You can actually find out for free! Go to pwnedlist.com, scroll down the page and enter your email address. Within seconds it will tell you if your address has been found in their extensive database of stolen or compromised accounts. You can breathe a sigh of relief when you get the results saying “Congrats! Your email is not in our list.” However, if your account IS found in their list, PwnedList can help you secure your account.
If you wish to create a free account with PwnedList, you can sign up for them to monitor your account for unauthorized use, a free service for individuals. Do yourself a favor and prevent a security breach of your account before it happens — it’s FREE!