Email hacking is a ‘common issue,’ but not as common as email hacking scam. Cybercriminals know how much fear people have on matters hacking. If you mention the word, ‘hacking’ against or alongside someone’s domain name, you can be sure you have freaked them out close to death. That is why cybercrimes revolve around hacking, whether in reality or in imagination.

Have you ever received an email ‘from you’ notifying you that you have been hacked? That the hacker has your passwords and is planning to do something nasty to taint either your personal or business image? I know a good number of us have?

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You have heard of family members who ‘kidnap’ their kins’ kids then they use strangers to ask for ransom? I know of one university student who carried his sister’s 1 year old kid to his campus hostel and was asking for a whole Ksh. 200,000. I wish I knew what he wanted to do with all that kind of money ten years ago. But the good thing is that he was caught and got nothing.

Now you see that hacking alert email… it’s just similar to such a case as shared above. I mean, you have not been hacked, your email is still safe but the ‘hacker’ is a cybercriminal who is out to defraud you.

Here are some of the subjects they use:

The case gets more frightening when the criminal has also shared with you a password that you have been using. Still my advice is, don’t panic; don’t fall into their trap. Such passwords they have obtained from may be an existing data breach- it has nothing to do with your email.

The spam emails are full of threats and obviously that can get one so alarmed. For instance, they claim to have access to your passwords, as well as your email and social media contact lists. Failure to send whatever the ransom they ask for and you risk having them share with your contacts your ‘digital secrets.’ Mostly, they will blackmail you with sexual contacts, some pornographic sites and such bad content; this is called sextortion. Do not believe them, they are just looking for money (from you).

Email hacking alerts can trouble you even if it’s a scam- one, because it is a total nuisance and secondly, because you are really not sure what to do about it. To add to your email security, always prefer a two-factor authentication (2FA) for log-ins. With the spam messages, just delete them and behave like they were never sent to you. As for the email with which the password offered in the spam is used, it’s good you stop using it. Key thing, mind your own business and let the ‘hackers’ sleep hungry; they are just teasing you.