Hi Delalan,

Update/install antivirus and fullscan all system.

Change email password (make sure the settings didn't change, for ex, the alternative email for password recovery). Then all should be ok, IF someone hacked it, theres not much you can do about it, just make sure it dont happen again.

Be aware that some emails seem from microsoft team but most of the times they are not, dont open it. If it's really from microsoft it should have like a "green shield" image along with the sender's address/name.

Most likely this email is a phishing (scam).  Don't follow any links on it -- instead, access your account by typing the URL by hand or by using your bookmarks if you've bookmarked the address.  See if you can access your account.  If yes, change the password.

Some important points:

Antivirus won't do anything at all if the account hijacking was done because you set a weak password to it.

Don't rely on "green shields" or anything: this depends on the mailclient you're using.

Most likely this email is a phishing (scam). they may ask you to change your password. they will ask you for your present password and then the new one. DON'T DO THIS!! IT IS HOW THEY GET YOUR PASSWORD.

you can google the text you have received and you will see the results of this scam and how to avoid getting trapped.

"Antivirus wont do anything in case of weak password"... you dont say??? 

Run your antivirus anyway, it detects malware if you have it... and it can't be bad anyway...

And, in outlook/hotmail you can trust the green shield, it means the sender was verified by microsoft. Says microsoft, not me.

> Run your antivirus anyway, it detects malware if you have it... and it can't be bad anyway...

An antivirus is very useful but it won't help at all in case of a hacked mailbox.  You could have as well advised the OP to wear a condom.

> And, in outlook/hotmail you can trust the green shield, it means the sender was verified by microsoft.

If you use Outlook/Hotmail a phishing email is the last of your problems.  Strongly advise to switch to a better mailclient/webmail.

Look, I was just tryting to help, I'm sorry if I hurt your geek feelings. 

Btw, I'm using Outlook/hotmail for 10 years now, not a single problem. 

Case closed. Bye.

> I'm sorry if I hurt your geek feelings.

This thread is quite old, but I was just hacked/phished and I think it might be personal. Does anyone have the expertise to help me figure out who did the hacking/phishing? Or at least which continent the attack came from?

Get 2 factor passwords on email accounts (ie: require a SMS verification). Once someone has your email account they probably have all of your accounts!

... think about how many services you sign up for with email. The passwords for all of them can be reset by someone who has access to your email.

Apple products tend to be more secure 'out of the box' than their Android or Windows counterparts.

Thanks

You have more or less zero chance to find out who hacked you or from where.. Maybe if you have the resources of the CIA, just maybe .. But for normal people, don't waste time to try to investigate.

If you suspect your phone/computer could have been compromised, rebuild them from fresh or good backup -- the could have a 'keylogger' for example.. Use 2FA as somebody said.. Make sure you don't use the same password on multiple sites, change all of the passwords.. Use a password manager. 

John H is right about the chances of finding out who interfered with your account. But the first question is whether you have been hacked or are being the target of a phising attempt (simutaneously with many others). There is a difference and your response would be different.

You need to provide more details as to what it is you have experienced. If it is phishing, do not reply or click on any links provided, and go directly to your account and change the password, using a stronger one. If you have been hacked, your response would depend on what was done to your account, but running an antivirus program to determine if any malware has been installed would be a good preventive measure, but it will do nothing about the extraction of information from your account.

Thanks Sean, John H and JRM.

I'm not sure whether I've been hacked or phished. I received a document on my yahoo email account from what appeared to be my cousin's email account. I opened the document attached. I got a similar message from my brother's account but did not open that document. Then I received emails from a friend who I contact on a hotmail account I have asking me whether he should open a document I had sent (no). So it seems that two of my email accounts were attacked.  I was also told that my Facebook account had been attacked. Finally, I keep getting messages from Apple telling me that someone is trying to access my Apple ID. 

I don't know if this helps determine whether it is hacking or phishing. But I am wondering whether this means that the perp had access to all my emails until I changed my password?

Hacking and phishing make no difference.. They are just terms for accessing your account/data without your consent.   Hacking can be anything, somebody guessing your password is hacking. Phishing is simply using some kind of lure to make it easier to hack you, an email attachment, a fake web page, a phone call, a letter.

It's very hard to know what happened.. But you should seriously consider a fresh start, a complete re-install of your devices from a good source.

Even if you have changed all of your passwords, there's a fair chance that the person has installed a peice of software on your device which is able to harvest your new passwords.

2 factor authentication mitigates most of this risk, you should enable it anywhere you can.