Email is a digital service that replaces the old letters that are now in danger of ex

tinction. Although there are other social networks that are used more today, this service is still widely used to contact other users or to manage our orders on ecommerce platforms.

According to Kinsta, today more than 4 billion people use email in the world, far more users than Facebook (2.2 billion) and many more than Instagram (about 1 billion). This large amount means that cybercriminals are also more interested in attacking with this social network.

Josep Albors, director of research and awareness of the company specialized in cybersecurity ESET, focuses on hacks: "By hijacking our accounts, cybercriminals can monetize the attacks in various ways to fill their pockets."

Among the most common methods used by criminals to steal account data is sending emails in which they pose as a trustworthy person or entity. In these cases, the attackers lie saying that there has been an error and that the person must log in again.

However, cybercriminals can also obtain a user's password through automated software. To avoid this, the ideal is to have a password with lowercase and uppercase letters, with symbols and numbers and modify it every so often.

Another option for stealing people's credentials that attackers use is to decrypt a public WiFi network. If the user has ever accessed his account using someone else's WiFi, cybercriminals can obtain it.
The keys to know if you have been hacked.

• If you find emails in your inbox from addresses you don't know or if messages you don't remember sending appear in 'Sent'.
• You can not access your account? Someone may have changed your password. It is important to have an alternative to be able to access Gmail or Outlook and, when you do, change the password.
• If you receive alerts that you have requested to change your password, the cybercriminal may have finally succeeded. Change the password to avoid disappointment and keep an eye on the rest of your social networks or other platforms.
• If someone has logged into your account, they may be using your email to send messages to your contacts. Check the 'Sent' section to make sure that the messages you have sent are all written by you.
• By having the account connected to the mobile, you can activate the notifications that notify you when you log in from another device. If you're alerted to a connection you didn't make, change your password just in case.
• To clear up doubts, there is a website with a large database that checks if your email has been compromised: habeibeenpwned.com.