Recover a hacked or hijacked email account

If you received a notice from AT&T Internet Services Security Center that an email address on your account has sent spam, you can’t sign in to your account, or you’re not receiving email, it's likely that your account has been hacked, phished, or compromised. Other symptoms of a compromised email address can include the following:

• You get complaints about spam being sent from your email address (to people within your address book or to strangers).
  
• You're not receiving any email.
  
• You appear to be missing email.
  
• You receive large numbers of undeliverable or bounced messages you didn't send.
  
• You can't sign in to your email account.
  
• You see unknown emails in your Sent folder.
  
• You get an email about winning a type of reward, such as an AT&T Reward.
  

Email IDs, passwords, and other private information get compromised through phishing attempts or keylogging malware. After the thief steals the information, it can be used by an unauthorized third party to send spam or fraudulent emails.

You can regain full control of your account information. AT&T Internet Security Services recommends several actions to protect yourself and your account information.

Review all of these possible areas of vulnerability and make changes to recover your account fully and remove all possible sources of the hack.

Change email password
Changing your password minimizes the immediate risk to your AT&T email account. Then, change your password again after you've verified all computers on your network are free of malware and all your email settings are valid. For help selecting a strong password and safeguarding it against misuse, please review these password tips.

Create or update account security questions and answers
The security questions and answers that you set at myAT&T allow you and only you to access your account or make changes to your account information.

Secure your computers
Secure your computers against malware. Malware can steal passwords and other personal information.

• Scan all computers with an up-to-date anti-virus program. The AT&T Internet Security Suite powered by McAfee¹ is free to qualifying members and includes anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall protection.
• Use an up-to-date anti-malware application, as some malware isn't detected by anti-virus scans.
• Ensure your operating system has been updated with all the recommended security updates from the operating system provider.

Access your settings by hovering over the gear icon at top right, and then selecting Settings. Review the following areas for suspicious activity:

• Email signature - Look for changed or unknown content.
• Accounts - Check the email accounts listed. Select Edit to view the details of your account(s), and check for any unknown or incorrect accounts listed under POP or Forward. Verify the sending name, reply-to address, spam settings, and any other details. Delete any unknown or incorrect accounts.
• Vacation response - Disable the Vacation Response except when needed.
• Blocked addresses - Verify that your email address isn't listed in the Blocked Email Addresses list. If it is, remove it, and select Save.
• Review contacts - Be sure the information for your contacts is correct, and delete any unknown or unfamiliar ones.