Actions to be taken in case of hijacking or loss of GMAIL account credentials
1. Introduction
The purpose of this article is to provide recommended steps to recover a GMAIL account that may have been lost or hijacked.
Although the instructions have been checked, it should be noted that ultimately the recovery or not of the account depends on the criteria or criteria of the people at Gmail who evaluate the request and the evidence provided. This means that despite following each step correctly, it is possible that the recovery request will be rejected.
2. Steps for Gmail account recovery
2.1. Factors that can facilitate recovery
As indicated in the introduction, the decision to return an account to an applicant depends on one or more people who will need evidence that it really belongs to the applicant. There are a number of factors that may make it easier for Google staff to decide to return the account.
Some of these factors are:
- Use a device (computer, phone, tablet) with which the account has been previously accessed.
- Use the same browser used to access the account previously.
- Enable localization and match locations from which you have previously accessed the account.
2.2. Gmail account recovery request
To request account recovery, the first thing to do is to access the following link, if possible from a regular device, as well as the browser and location from which you usually connect to your account:
After initiating the recovery process, it’s important to respond with the utmost accuracy to the questions posed by the Google team. The questions are quite strict in order to assist Google’s personnel who will be verifying your identity. They require all the necessary information to ensure that it is indeed you and not someone else trying to impersonate you. Questions related to security passwords and secret questions are highly pertinent to Google’s verification process.
In case the aforementioned steps have not worked correctly for whatever reason, it is advised to follow the steps outlined in the following link:
2.3. Once the Gmail account has been successfully recovered,
After recovering our account, it’s important to review the activity on it since the time it was compromised.
To do this, while logged into our Google account, we should navigate to Security and review the activity.
It’s also essential to access the devices section to verify from which devices the account was accessed. This helps detect any unfamiliar devices and block access if necessary.
2.4. Measures to protect your Gmail account.
Among the measures to protect our account, we should apply the following:
- Enable two-step verification.
Two-step verification requires you to use the mobile app to verify that you are indeed the person you claim to be. If you don’t have access to the mobile app, your access will be blocked.
Two-step verification exists for a multitude of platforms. A QR code is used to link the device to an account.
- Report the account hack.
After regaining access, review your bank statements and contact the police. It’s important to have a report in case of any potential issues and to preemptively block any unauthorized activity.
Nowadays, you can even make payments through Google, which is why it’s important to review these transactions.
- Clean devices and review services associated with your email.
Purchase a good antivirus and install it on your computer and mobile device. To perform device cleanup, it’s advisable to read the following article:
https://jaymonsecurity.com/asegurar-dispositivos-posibles-espionajes/
3. Helpful links.
Below, the links to the official documentation provided by Google are shown, which can be of great help.
