Yahoo account compromised: ID incorrect

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I am told my Yahoo ID is incorrect. I’ve had the same address for over 8 years. Recently I was e-mailed that my Yahoo account may have been compromised and I needed to change my password, which I did. My machine was working fine last night and today… I can’t get into Yahoo at all. Every thing I type in is not letting me access it. Help!
Lynne Bryant

It seems Lynne has been a victim of a typical phishing attack. She received an email with a distressing subject “Your Yahoo account has been compromised” and acted hastily on it. In her anguish, she must have clicked a link in the email and would have then been taken to a fraudulent web site where she entered the Yahoo ID and password.

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Note: As far as I know, Yahoo has never sent an email with such a subject. Think about it – How will Yahoo ever know your account has been compromised?

Phishing tactics – Yahoo account has been compromised

Contrary to what many people believe, the Internet is quite a nasty place. Con artists of the virtual world are adept at coming up with innovative ways for stealing your precious and sensitive information. One of the most successful, and possibly the oldest, tactics they employ is phishing (pronounced just like ‘fishing‘).

Typically, a phishing scam starts with tricksters sending out hundreds of thousands of emails. These act like baits appealing to one’s greed or touching a very emotional chord. The message generally contains an embedded link that points to a fraudulent web site. The job of this web site, which looks like a legitimate one, is to collect information from unsuspecting users.

For instance, a phishing email with Your Yahoo account has been compromised as the subject can quickly upset an unsuspecting recipient. The worried reader would, generally without a thought, click a link in this message. This opens a fraudulent web site in the browser through which the user sends the Yahoo login information to the scamsters. Once the Yahoo ID and password get in the hands of con artists they have full control of the account.

So is there no respite if you have been tricked into revealing the Yahoo login information? Can you ever regain access of your account if you fell prey to such an attack? Fortunately, Yahoo understands the scourge of phishing and is ready to offer help and support.

Yahoo account compromised - get help from Yahoo

Launch your web browser and go to the Yahoo! Mail login page – http://mail.yahoo.com. Click on the “I can’t access my account” link found just below the ID and password fields on the Yahoo sign in page. Choose the last “My account may have been compromised” option and follow the directions as prompted.
You can also get in touch with the support staff via the Yahoo phone numbers1-866-562-7219, 1-800-699-2466 or 1-866-562-7249.

Protect your Yahoo account for future

The simplest way to protect your Yahoo account is remembering never to click a link in a suspicious email message. To make assurance doubly sure, you can also create a Yahoo sign in seal for the login page which will only be displayed on the official web site – please read that article for details.

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