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The dark web is an unregulated group of deep web marketplaces, websites, and forums. As such, it is a fertile environment for illegal activity. Having your private information circulating in this place is as disturbing as it is dangerous.
A stolen email can result in data leaks, blackmail, phishing scams, financial fraud, and even identity theft. Staying vigilant and using good identity protection tools is a must nowadays.
Keep reading to learn how to safeguard your online privacy and what to do if you find your email on the dark web.
Your private info can end up on the dark web in a number of ways. Here are the most common scenarios.
Scouring the dark web for a specific piece of sensitive information is extremely difficult. Fortunately, numerous tools can scan the dark web for you. With that in mind, there are three common ways to check if your sensitive data is circulating there.
As the name suggests, this tool scans the dark web for your info and alerts you if it finds any. HaveIBeenPwnd and Mozilla Monitor are the most popular options for checking data breaches. We also recommend installing a good identity protection program like Aura.
With scanners, you have to initiate the checks manually. Dark web monitoring apps, on the other hand, scan the dark web continuously in real-time. This uninterrupted surveillance can give you more time to respond to potential breaches. Most of these apps also provide a real-time credit monitoring service for extra security.
In addition to email leaks, dark web monitoring can look for stolen login details, social security numbers, banking info, and other private info.
In the U.S., companies have to notify you about data breaches. However, companies can take days or months to disclose this fact to the public. They’ll usually wait until they’ve solved the vulnerability that allowed the breach. By then, the hackers have probably already sold stolen data on the dark web. Even though it’s good to know that companies have this obligation, we don’t recommend relying on them in these matters.
It’s essential to keep your calm and act quickly in these situations. Hopefully, the criminals only have your email address without the login details. We recommend thinking of data breaches as races against hackers—they’re trying to take over your online accounts, and you want to keep them out. The quicker you act, the higher the chances of preventing these takeovers.
Here’s what to do the moment you find your email on the dark web.
Changing your login details is essential, especially if they were leaked with your email address. We recommend creating a strong password to prevent brute force attacks. An ideal password should contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
A data breach is a wake-up call to change passwords on all important accounts, especially if you’ve reused them. If a hacker cracks one password, they also try to use it on your other accounts. Creating unique passwords will help you avoid a chain of breaches in these scenarios.
Even if a hacker has the right password, 2FA will make an account breach much more difficult. 2FA sends a PIN code to your phone or authenticator app for each login attempt. You can access the account in question only after entering this code.
As an extra precaution, we recommend verifying your banking transactions and checking your credit report for suspicious activity.
Antivirus programs will scan every file on your device for malware. They can also protect you against phishing attacks and other online threats. We recommend boosting your online security with renowned providers like TotalAV and McAfee.
You can adopt plenty of good security habits to minimize the risk of data leaks. Here’s how to protect yourself.
Investing in an identity theft protection program can help you keep track of your sensitive data on the dark web. It can also alert you about potential identity theft. Some of the best identity protection programs available include:
You can't remove your email from the dark web. The best thing you can do is protect it from being hacked in the first place by using a strong password and enabling 2FA.
It can be concerning if your email is on the dark web. If this happens to you, you should change your password and ensure it's complex and hard to guess. You'll also want to turn on 2FA to provide an additional barrier to accessing your email. Additional precautions include monitoring your email and financial accounts for unusual activity.
You could delete your email if you prefer, but recovering your email account is still possible. The first step is to change the password and enable 2FA. You can do this with your email provider's account recovery options.
Once you have control of your account, you should alert your contacts that you've been hacked and ask them not to open suspicious emails from you. You should also check your email settings to make sure that they aren't forwarding your emails to a different address.
You can't change your current email address. If you would like a different one, you need to set up a new account.
Hackers are usually responsible for getting your information on the dark web. They may have hacked one of the services you use and gotten your data that way. Another way is that they installed malware on your device or conducted a cyberattack to steal your information directly.
You can use dark web scanners to look for your email address on the dark web. Some popular sites include HaveIBeenPwnd and Mozilla Monitor. They check if your email was part of a data breach. We also recommend using a premium identity protection service like Aura.
It's worrying to find out your personal information is on the dark web and out of your control. However, there are steps you can take to protect yourself. The best thing you can do is ensure your email account has a strong and unique password. Enabling 2FA can provide another layer of security against unauthorized access.
Beyond keeping your email account safe, you should also consider securing your data with good identity protection tools. They can monitor the dark web for your data, spot early signs of theft, and help you recover from fraudulent activity.
Excellent identity theft protection service
Includes a password manager and VPN
Robust tools for children’s security
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