How to Recover a Hacked Email Account
Lock the account from a device you still control, then change the password and end every other session. If you are locked out, use the provider's account recovery route rather than paying anyone to restore it.
Have this ready
- A device already signed in, if possible
- Your recovery phone or address
- A list of the services that used that email
Step by step
- 1Try signing in from a device you still have access to, since a trusted session is the fastest route back in.
- 2Change the password to a new, unique one and turn on two-step verification immediately.
- 3Sign out of all other sessions and revoke app passwords and connected apps you do not recognise.
- 4Check forwarding rules and filters for anything that copies your mail elsewhere.
- 5Tell your contacts that the account was compromised, because the attacker may message them.
- 6Check the account's recovery options and remove phone numbers or addresses you do not own.
- 7If you cannot get back in, use the provider's official recovery form and expect identity checks.
Want it done with you?
I can walk you through it in a Magic Box, show you the exact clicks, or do it with you and keep the recording. You log in yourself; I never see your password.
Common questions
What if the attacker changed my recovery details?+
Use the provider's recovery options and wait out the security delay. Providers deliberately make recovery slow to block attackers.
Should I delete the account instead?+
Only once you have moved your accounts to a new address. Deleting it can make recovery of other services harder.
How did they get in?+
Usually a reused password from a breach, or a phishing page that captured a code. Check the address before signing in, and never reuse passwords.