Hackers hit Hotmail, Yahoo email account users

Do you use a Hotmail or Yahoo web based free email account? If you do, then you are under constant threat of losing your email account for ever if you are not careful.

Hackers and scammers have devised a strategy to steal your email account and if you fall for it they gain access to your email account and deprive you of it.

Already some very well placed and prominent Ghanaians have fallen victim to these thieves.

Among some of the victims include a Member of Ghana’s Parliament, Nii Amasa Namoale, Ghana Journalists Association General Secretary, Mr. Bright Blewu and Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa, Prof. Kwame Karikari.

The modus operandi of the hackers involve sending their targets spam mail purported to be coming from either Hotmail or Yahoo Customer Service. In these emails they warn you that your account will be closed if you fail to fill an attached form.

The emails usually warn you that the Hotmail server is full and they are getting rid of some email accounts to clear the system and if you do not fill in the form, your account would be closed.

In the case of Yahoo account users, the hackers say Yahoo is upgrading its system.

The attached form accompanying such deceptive emails comes with a Hotmail or Yahoo logo and requests for your name, age, date of birth and email account. It also asks you to fill in your country of residence and password.

But in this case, when you fill your password, it is readable! What that means is that anyone who gets hold of this information will have easy access to your email account and can do whatever he or she wishes with it.

However, a password is not supposed to be readable or visible under any circumstance. Anytime you fill any online form and your password becomes visible and is readable, then you are at risk of exposing your account to any one who receives that information.

Each time you type your password, it should appear in asterix  or dots. When you can read or tell your own password, then anyone else can, but a password is your key, which should be kept a secret.

When you receive any such email, ignore it and when in doubt talk to someone who is informed on internet matters for advise.

Once these criminals gain access to your email account, they immediately change your password, which then denies you access to your email account and then they send a familiar email to all the people on your contact list.

Usually, the story they tell is that you have travelled somewhere, I believe guessing from your country of residence they choose the country you have travelled to, and you have been attacked by robbers who have taken away your wallet and you are stranded or in hospital. They would then ask your contacts to send money to pay your hospital bills and pay for air tickets and so on. They would always ask that the money should be sent by Western Union.

What that also means is that you would lose all the information including your contact list which you have accumulated over the years.

In some cases, some people on the contact lists of victims have actually sent these monies only to be duped.

Be on the watch out and don’t fall a victim. After reading this, spread the word and be safe.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi