Unexpected password resets, sent messages, forwarding rules, login alerts, or contacts receiving strange mail can indicate an account compromise.
What this usually means
Pop-ups, browser redirects, unwanted programs, account alerts, and remote-access activity require different responses. Avoid calling numbers in warnings or installing another unknown cleanup tool.
Practical checks and decisions
Change the password from a trusted device
For “change the password from a trusted device,” begin on a separate trusted device if access may already be exposed. Protect the primary email account first, then review recovery methods, active sessions, unfamiliar forwarding, and multifactor settings before moving to less important logins.
Review recovery information, sessions, and forwarding rules
Use “review recovery information, sessions, and forwarding rules” as a verification step, not a quick password swap. Choose a unique credential, remove recovery details you do not recognize, sign out other sessions, and record which accounts still depend on the same email address or phone number.
Enable multifactor authentication
Before completing “enable multifactor authentication,” confirm that you control the recovery email, phone, and authenticator. Save backup codes somewhere separate from the computer and never give a caller, pop-up, or remote technician a one-time verification code.
Warn contacts when malicious messages were sent
After “warn contacts when malicious messages were sent,” watch for new login alerts, password-reset messages, sent mail, and changed account rules. Those clues help determine whether the concern ended with one login or requires a wider account review for how to know if your email was hacked.
When a professional diagnosis makes sense
For how to know if your email was hacked, get help when money, passwords, email, remote access, or unfamiliar account activity may be involved. Preserve a timeline, avoid further contact with the suspected scammer, and make account changes from a trusted device.
For hands-on or remote help, review the related service, or browse the Help Center for another guide.
