Yahoo Users – Beware of Phishing Attempts

yahoo user breachThere has been a lot of trouble for Yahoo users lately since they announced there was a breach of 1 billion Yahoo accounts in August 2013, and then in September released a statement that in 2014 an additional 500 million Yahoo  accounts were breached. Yahoo has been urging their users to change their passwords and update their security.

 

If you have a Yahoo account, your account could potentially be at risk, and therefore it’s best to proactively change your password and update your security. You should do this on your own, and not through any email sent to you, even if it says it’s coming from Yahoo.  Even though it might look like a legitimate email, it could be from hackers trying to trick you into providing your contact details and personal information. You should always be on alert for a phishing attempt, but especially now, you should take extra caution.

 

Yahoo has provided examples for what their emails look like to help you identify if emails you receive are legitimate or not. You’ll notice that their emails only explain what happened, and what you should be doing to protect yourself. They do not include any links for you to click on and they will not request that you input any personal information.

 

Protect Your Account

 

Change your password

Make sure to change your password to one that you’ve never used before.

  • Go to the Yahoo Account Info page
  • Click on Account Security
  • Click Change Password and then enter and confirm your new password.

 

Enable Two-Step Authentication

This is an extra layer of security that sends you a text message, or gives you a call with a code that you must input in order to verify you as the user before allowing access to your account.

  • Go to the Yahoo Account Info page
  • Click Account Security
  • Under Two-Step Verification, click the on/off icon
  • Input your mobile number
  • You’ll need to verify your number by either clicking Send SMS to receive a text with your code, or Call me to receive a phone call with a code
  • Input the verification code and click Verify.
  • Whenever you try to access your account, you will be provided with a different code each time.

 

If you have other questions on how to secure your Yahoo account, you can access their help center. If you are concerned with other forms of phishing attempts, ensure you are protected with an updated antivirus software to help protect against hackers and provide you the best anti-phishing solution.

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