Gmail or Google account is one of the most popular and widely used email services and that’s what makes it the prime target for hackers. Despite having the best-in-class security and safety features on offer by Google, we have seen cases where Google accounts were hacked in the past.
A Google account — which is generally used in several places like for setting up a new smartphone to accessing or logging into a website — carries crucial information, including personal, professional and financial details such as credit/debit card, phone number, etc.
In case it gets compromised, the hacker will have access to all the data stored with the Google account.
The question here is, how to find out whether the Google account has been compromised or not. In this guide, we will tell you a couple of ways that can help you find whether it has been hacked or not.
Use Google Password checker tool
The first thing that you need to do is check whether your Google account password is safe or not. For this, Google has a password checkup tool. This tool scans the stored password in the account, including the Google account password, and informs whether they have been compromised or not.
It also tells whether you need to create a unique password or change the password altogether.
The tool can be accessed by visiting https://passwords.google.com/. On the page, click on ‘go to password manager’ option.
Check for alarming recent login activities
Usually Google asks users to enable two-factor authentication for added security to Google accounts. However, there’s a chance that despite everything done correctly, things can go wrong. To find that, head to ‘https://myaccount.google.com/notifications’ and look for any unusual login activity.
This page will show you all the login activities in the past 28 days for the particular Google account. If you find a login activity from an unknown location, then there’s a chance that your account has been hacked.
For instance, if you live in New Delhi and you find out that someone has logged into your Google account from abroad or a random location, then it’s a sign of the account getting hacked.
Check for suspicious devices linked to your Google account
If someone has hacked your Google account, they must be using it on a device. Google allows users to check the list of devices that are linked with Google accounts.
To do this, https://myaccount.google.com/security, scroll down and look for ‘your devices’ section. Here, you’ll need to check if there’s any unknown device that’s linked with your Google Account. If yes, there’s a fair chance it has been hacked.
Check for suspicious apps and websites that are being used with your Google account
Similar to devices, Google also gives users the option to check which website and apps are linked to your account.
Look for any suspicious app or website you don’t use. If you find something suspicious, the bare minimum you should do is change your password and logout of all web sessions.
Check if your emails are automatically getting forwarded to other email addresses
This is one feature that Gmail offers, allowing users to forward every mail that they receive to some other email address. Hackers are likely to use this feature in order to get all your emails.
To check this, head to Gmail Settings -> Forwarding and POP/IMAP and check if there’s any random email addresses entered into the Forwarding section. If yes, remove it and change your account password.
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