There may be a chance that your Yahoo! Mail account has been compromised. This can lead to your account being accessed without your permission and spam messages being sent to your contacts. Customers have also reported that their messages and contacts were also deleted.
Below, we’ll discuss how an account can be compromised, what you can do to ensure the security of your account, and how you may be able to recover lost messages and contacts. By following these guidelines, you should be able to continue using your Yahoo! Mail account without closing your account and starting over again.
Here are some common ways your user name and password can be compromised:
- Responding to a fraudulent “phishing” email, pretending to be from Yahoo!, asking for your user name and password.
- A type of malicious software called a “keylogger” on your computer.
- Allowing third parties access to your account.
- Leaving your account signed in at a public location.
We strongly recommend that you change your account password. Our online help pages have great step-by-step instructions on how to change your account password.
We also recommend that you verify that your account’s alternate email address has not been changed. If it has, please correct itto match your records.
You can also go to our security center to learn more about protecting your online security and Yahoo! Mail account.
We have found that some users that have experienced this type of compromise might have also had their Yahoo! Address Book deleted or possibly even the contents of their Yahoo! Mail account deleted.