Your email is the key to all your important accounts, like your banking platforms, shopping apps, and subscription services. If it’s compromised, your personal and financial information can be at risk.

In one alarming case reported by USA Today, a hacker accessed a retired teacher’s email and stole nearly $35,000 from her retirement account^[1]. This incident is a reminder of how weak email security can expose more than just your emails and why taking preventive steps matters. 

If the question on your mind is “how to protect my email from hackers,” this guide will help you understand how hackers target emails and how you can secure your account and all your associated profiles. We’ll also explore how virtual cards can limit the impact of a breach by keeping your real payment details safe.

How Email Accounts Are Commonly Hacked

Most email hacks result from simple tactics rather than sophisticated high-tech attacks. Here are some of the most common ways hackers gain access to your inbox:

• Data breaches—If a company you’ve created an account with suffers a breach, your email address (and possibly your password) or saved card information could be leaked. Hackers also sometimes buy stolen credentials in bulk.
• Weak passwords—Weak passwords or passwords reused across multiple sites make it easier for hackers to guess or brute-force their way into your email account. Also, if you often share personal information like birthdays, pet names, or location on social media, hackers can use this data to guess your security questions and recover passwords.
• Public WiFi—Logging into your email accounts over unsecured public WiFi networks can be risky. Without strong encryption, it's relatively easy for bad actors to eavesdrop and capture your login credentials.
• Phishing attacks—Even if the hacker hasn’t obtained your password and only knows your email address, they may send you phishing emails impersonating trusted companies or contacts. The email may ask you to click a link that leads to a fake login page or download an attachment that installs malware on your device. If you engage, they can steal your login information or gain unauthorized access to other accounts.

What Can Hackers Do With Your Email Credentials?

Access to your inbox acts as an entry point to your digital identity, allowing cybercriminals to carry out various types of fraud. Once they hack your email credentials, hackers can:

• Spoof your email address to scam someone—Hackers can forge your email address and send scam messages that appear to come from you, with or without having full access to your account. These spoofed emails can trick your contacts into sending money, sharing sensitive information, or clicking on malicious links.
• Intercept incoming emails—Hackers can set up auto-forwarding or filters to intercept incoming messages that contain sensitive information, like bank notifications or payment receipts after shopping online.
• Hack your other online accounts—Cybercriminals can request password changes, intercept recovery links, and take over your social media, shopping, or even financial accounts without your knowledge.
• Impersonate you online—Hackers can use your personal details to open new accounts, apply for loans, or commit fraud in your name. This can leave you responsible for unauthorized debts or damage to your credit if not addressed immediately.
• Lock you out—With your login information, hackers can change your email password and completely take control of your account, reducing your chances of successful recovery.

What To Do if You Suspect Your Email Has Been Hacked

If you think your email account has been compromised, acting quickly can help limit the damage. Follow these steps to remediate the situation:

1. Regain access to your account—Visit your provider's recovery page to reset your password and lock out unauthorized users. For example, Google^[2] and Microsoft^[3] outlined step-by-step instructions to verify your identity and recover your account access.
2. Scan your device for malware—Use antivirus software to check for and remove any malicious programs that may have compromised your login credentials.
3. Notify your contacts—Let your contacts know you were hacked, especially if they may have received suspicious emails from your address.
4. Report the incident—File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to document the breach and receive recovery guidance.

How To Protect Your Email From Hacking

You can close email security gaps before hackers can exploit them with these tips:

1. Implement better password practices
2. Block spam emails
3. Install anti-malware tools
4. Use email aliases instead of your real email address
5. Use a VPN when using public WiFi

Implement Better Password Practices

An email address alone doesn’t give hackers much to work with, but a weak or reused password can make your account vulnerable. 

A strong password should be 10 to 12 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Also, avoid reusing the same password across multiple sites. To simplify the process of managing and remembering multiple complex passwords, consider using a password manager that can generate and securely store strong passwords for you.

For even stronger protection, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) as an extra layer of security in case your password gets compromised. This adds a second step to the login process, such as a one-time code sent to your phone or a fingerprint scan, making it much harder for anyone to access your account.

Block Spam Emails

Spam emails aren’t just annoying; they can also expose you to phishing links, malware, and various scams. According to the FTC, there are a few steps you can take to reduce the amount of spam emails you get^[4]:

• Use your email provider’s spam filter to send suspicious emails to a junk folder automatically.
• Block senders or domains through your provider’s settings to avoid future messages from those sources.
• Unsubscribe from unwanted mailing lists, especially those you don’t remember subscribing to.
• Review a company’s privacy policies before sharing your email and understand how they intend to use your information.

Install Anti-Malware Tools

Phishing emails are one of the most common ways malware enters a device, often through attachments or links that appear legitimate. That’s where anti-malware tools can offer additional protection by tackling these threats if they make it through your inbox.

A key feature in most anti-malware tools (like Norton^[5]) is real-time attachment scanning, which blocks harmful files like executables or macro-enabled documents before they run. Some solutions, like Bitdefender, can also verify links in real time, warning you or blocking access to fake banking and payment sites.

Use Email Aliases Instead of Your Real Email Address

An email alias is an alternative email address that forwards messages to your main inbox, without revealing your primary email address and any private information linked to that address. It helps reduce the risks of phishing attacks and spam designed to steal your sensitive information.

Aliases are especially useful when signing up for online services, newsletters, or promotional offers. If any of your aliases gets compromised or starts receiving spam, you can disable or delete the alias without affecting your main account.

Use a VPN When Connected to Public WiFi

A VPN encrypts the data transmitted over your internet connection (such as emails, login credentials, or personal information) and ensures it’s unreadable to anyone who might intercept it on an unsecured network.

Choose a reliable VPN provider like Windscribe or NordVPN, and make sure to always activate it before connecting to a public WiFi. Also, regularly update your VPN application to benefit from the latest security enhancements.

Securing Your Financial Information Against Email Hacks

Even with strong email security, email hacks can still happen. Hackers can get hold of your email credentials from a bigger data breach or capture them using an advanced malware attack. But with the right precautions, you can reduce the chances of your financial data being exposed, even if someone gains access to your inbox.

Virtual cards offer a practical way to reduce your payment data exposure, even if the card number is compromised. They come with unique, random 16-digit numbers that are linked to your real account, but merchants and anyone who gains access to their systems can only see the virtual number.

Some banks like Citi and Capital One offer virtual card features, but a dedicated provider like Privacy gives you more flexibility. You can create, pause, or delete cards easily, without opening a new bank account.

Privacy Virtual Cards: Keep Your Real Payment Details Hidden From Hackers

Privacy lets you link your bank account or debit card to generate virtual cards. With a unique card number, expiration date, and security code, these cards work like regular cards and can be used for payments with any merchant that accepts U.S. Visa^® or Mastercard^® cards.

As a PCI-DSS-compliant service provider, Privacy follows stringent security standards that are typically used by banks and provides the following security features:

• Data encryption—Privacy secures your sensitive information using AES-256 encryption for stored data and Transport Layer Security (TLS) for data in transit.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA)—You can enable 2FA on your account using email or SMS codes or an authenticator app, adding an extra layer of security beyond your password.
• Fraud protection—Privacy offers a dispute process and responsive support to help you potentially recover your funds in case of an unauthorized charge. 

Privacy Card Types and Features

With Privacy, you can generate these four types of virtual cards:

‍

Privacy lets you set spending limits on your virtual cards. This means transactions that exceed the limit are automatically declined, helping avoid overcharges. You can also pause or close a card at any time—any further charges will be blocked.

Privacy’s Additional Convenience Features

To make payments more secure and easier to manage, Privacy offers the following features:

• 1Password Integration—Access and manage your Privacy Cards directly from the 1Password browser extension, right alongside your saved logins and passwords.
• Privacy App—Create, manage, and control your virtual cards on the go with the mobile app using your iOS or Android device.
• Privacy Browser Extension—Install Privacy’s browser extension for Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, and Safari for iOS to autofill card details and streamline your online checkout experience.

How To Get a Privacy Card

To join Privacy and get your first virtual card, follow these simple steps:

1. Register for a Privacy account
2. Complete the identity verification process
3. Link a funding source to your account
4. Request your first Privacy Card

You can choose from the four plans Privacy offers:

References

^[1]USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/chief/2023/07/20/how-to-secure-email/70433601007/, sourced May 19, 2025

^[2]Google. https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6294825, sourced May 19, 2025

^[3]Microsoft. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/how-to-recover-a-hacked-or-compromised-microsoft-account-24ca907d-bcdf-a44b-4656-47f0cd89c245, sourced May 19, 2025

^[4]Federal Trade Commission. https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-get-less-spam-your-email, sourced May 19, 2025

^[5]Norton. https://support.norton.com/sp/en/us/norton-safe-email/current/solutions/v20231009180506417, sourced May 19, 2025

‍