BRF-06 / Account Protection
Account protection: keeping your email, bank and social accounts in your hands
Your email account is the master key. Password resets for almost everything else land there, so whoever controls your inbox can usually take over your bank, social media and shopping accounts one reset at a time.
Account takeovers are often quiet at first: a forwarding rule you didn't create, a login alert from a city you've never visited, friends asking why you messaged them about crypto. For small businesses and nonprofits, a taken-over mailbox can be used to send fake invoices to your own clients and donors, from your real address.
This section covers the recovery settings to check today, how to read login alerts without panicking, what to do in the first hour after a takeover, and how to get help from platforms whose support is hard to reach. Most of it is setup you do once and then mostly forget about.
Red flags
- A login alert from a device or place you don't recognize.
- Password reset emails you didn't request.
- Sent messages you didn't write, or new forwarding rules.
- Your recovery phone number or email has changed.
5-minute security check
- Review the recovery email and phone on your main accounts.
- Check your email settings for unknown forwarding rules.
- Sign out of devices you no longer use.
- Turn on login alerts wherever they're offered.
Account Protection briefings
No account protection briefings are filed yet. The first one is in the works; until then, the headlines below track what’s happening.
Fraud and breach reporting from Krebs on Security
- Dutch Police Arrest ‘Reformed’ Hacker in Shiny Hunters InvestigationKrebs on Security
- U.S. Soldier Gets 70 Months in Prison for AT&T, Verizon ExtortionsKrebs on Security
- Data Broker Radaris Loses Domains in Privacy FightKrebs on Security
- Microsoft Plugs Nearly 1,000 Security HolesKrebs on Security
- FBI Probes Service Selling 153M+ Drivers LicensesKrebs on Security
- Two Alleged ‘TeamPCP’ Hackers Arrested in AustraliaKrebs on Security