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    Safety & Privacy
    Intermediate
    4 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026

    What to Do If Your Email Account Was Hacked

    If someone gets into your email account without permission, act fast. This step-by-step guide walks you through regaining access, securing your account.

    At a Glance

    Category
    Safety & Privacy
    Difficulty
    Intermediate
    Read Time
    4 min read
    Steps
    5
    Topics covered
    hacked email
    account recovery
    gmail
    outlook
    security
    password
    two-factor

    In this guide (5 steps):

    1. 1.Try to regain access immediately
    2. 2.Change your password immediately
    3. 3.Turn on two-factor authentication
    4. 4.Check your account settings for damage
    5. 5.Check which other accounts may be compromised
    1

    Try to regain access immediately

    ~26s
    Go to the login page for your email provider. Gmail: accounts.google.com/signin. Outlook/Hotmail: outlook.com. Try your last known password. If it does not work, click "Forgot Password" and follow the account recovery steps. You may need to verify via a backup phone number, backup email, or answer security questions.

    Quick Tip

    If you are completely locked out and recovery options fail, both Google and Microsoft have manual account recovery forms where you prove your identity. Search "Google account recovery" or "Microsoft account recovery."

    2

    Change your password immediately

    ~25s
    Once you are in, change your password right away before the hacker tries again. Make it at least 12 characters using a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. Do not use any part of your old password, your name, or your birthday. A password like "BlueSky$29!Morning" is far stronger than "password123."

    Warning

    Log out of all other sessions right away after changing your password. In Gmail: Google Account settingsSecurityYour DevicesSign out of all devices.

    3

    Turn on two-factor authentication

    ~16s
    This is the single most important thing you can do. Gmail: myaccount.google.com → Security → 2-Step VerificationGet Started. Outlook: account.microsoft.com → SecurityAdvanced Security OptionsTwo-step verification. With 2FA on, even if someone has your password, they still need your phone to log in.
    4

    Check your account settings for damage

    ~26s
    Look for changes the hacker may have made: email forwarding rules (they may have set your email to forward copies to their address), email signature (may contain spam links), recovery email/phone (may have been changed to their own), and connected apps that were granted access. Remove anything suspicious.

    Quick Tip

    In Gmail: Settings (gear icon) → See All SettingsForwarding and POP/IMAP → check if forwarding is turned on to an address you do not recognize. Delete it if so.

    5

    Check which other accounts may be compromised

    ~26s
    Look at your email's Sent folder for any password reset emails that went out after the hack. Check your inbox for "You requested a password reset" emails from services you use. For each affected account, change the password right away. Priority: banking, PayPal/Venmo, Amazon, your phone carrier, and Social Security/Medicare accounts.

    Warning

    If your email was hacked and used for even an hour, treat any accounts that use that email for login as potentially compromised, especially banking and financial accounts.

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    Finding out your email has been hacked is alarming, but it happens to millions of people every year, and most people recover fully if they act quickly. Speed matters: the faster you regain control, the less damage the hacker can do.

    Signs your email may have been hacked: you can't log in because the password was changed, friends got strange emails from you, there are sent messages you didn't write, your account settings changed, or you got a security alert about a login from an unknown location.

    The hacker's goal is usually one of three things: send spam from your account, get into your other accounts by using "Forgot Password" to reset them through email, or steal personal information sitting in your inbox.

    Your email is the master key to your digital life. Most other accounts let you reset their passwords through email. That's why protecting your email matters so much.

    After you get back in, do a full damage check. Look at which accounts might have gotten a "password reset" email while the hacker had access, and change those passwords too.

    The steps below cover Gmail and Outlook/Hotmail, which together cover most email users.

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    hacked email
    account recovery
    gmail
    outlook
    security
    password
    two-factor

    Official Resources

    FTC Consumer ProtectionCISA — Cybersecurity TipsAARP Fraud Watch Network

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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