AOL alert – unusual activity detected at the email account

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I had a weird experience with AOL today. Not that it was unpleasant… just a little bothersome. I tried to log in at my account and was greeted by an alert message. Apparently, the AOL system had detected unusual activity at my account and because of which, for my benefit, I was being forced to change the password.

AOL Alert - Unusual activity detected at the email account

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I was 100% sure that the login information (username and password) I had supplied was correct. There were no doubts about that. So why was AOL showing me this warning? Anyway, there was no way out. I couldn’t get rid of the alert and had to change the password.

Unusual activity and AOL email account!

If this is happening to you, don’t fret. Below are the screenshots of what I did and maybe this would help you out.

  • Click Change Password to proceed
  • Confirm the AOL username
  • Decipher the text puzzle to provde you are human
  • Options to verify your AOL email account
  • Provide answer to the security question set at the time of sign up
  • Choose a second verification method
  • Confirm your Date Of Birth and the Zip Code
  • Click on the Next button
  • Enter a new password for the AOL email account
  • Password Strength bar indicated how strong is the password
  • Click Remind Me Later link
  • AOL account finally accessed
  1. Click on the “Change Password” button [Slide 1].
  2. You have now begun the process of resetting the password [Slide 2]. Your AOL username will be displayed (change it if not correct) and then decipher the text puzzle. Click the “Next” button [Slide 3].
  3. Based on the information you had provided at sign up, you would be presented with one or more choices. I had set up an alternate email address as well as a security question and so I am asked to choose between the two [Slide 4]. I went ahead with the latter.
  4. AOL displays the security question and asks for the secret answer [Slide 5].
  5. I then had to pick a second method to confirm my identity. I clicked “Personal Details” [Slide 6].
  6. I was now asked to verify my date of birth and the zip code [Slides 7 and 8].
  7. Moving to the next screen, I get to see two fields in which I have to enter a new password. The conveniently located “strength bar” lets me know how secure my AOL email account will be with the new password [Slides 9 and 10].
  8. The password is now changed and I’m prompted to update the personal information at my account. OK, enough of this. I’m in a hurry to access the email messages and so scrolled down and clicked the “Remind Me Later” link [Slide 11].
  9. The AOL account finally comes up [Slide 12].

If you too are shown an alert and cannot access your AOL email account, you just need to change the password by confirming your personal details. There is also a phone number, 1-877-786-0722, through which you can (probably) contact the AOL customer support.

The take home message from this exercise is to keep the account updated with the correct and current personal information. The alert message displayed by AOL is simply to protect your account from hackers and I commend them for taking this step. You may also like to add a mobile number and an alternate email address at your account to easy the process of resetting the password.

On a related note, you can confirm if there has been an unusual activity at your AOL account by checking the log. Click “Options” and select “My Account”. Provide the answer to the security question you have set. Move to the “Account Options” section and click “View My Account Activity”. However, this list does not show if someone tried and failed to login repeatedly at your account.

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