Numerous individuals reach out with the claim that they have been locked out of their Gmail accounts because of the hacker and seek assistance to get access to their accounts back. However, it is suspected that some of these requests may actually be attempts to hack into the accounts of some other people.
A glance at both official and unofficial online Gmail support forums reveals that a lot of users may frequently fall victim to hacking incidents, resulting in their online lives being disrupted and losing access to their email. A recurring theme in these requests for help is that the attackers often change passwords, security keys and phone numbers making it difficult for the legitimate account holders to recover their accounts.
In an effort to offer guidance, an inquiry was made directly to Google considering the steps users can take to regain control of their Gmail accounts and it turns out there are more options available than expected.
Google has informed the users that they have weaker recovery access to a compromised Gmail account. In an interview with Google’s spokesperson Ross Richendrfer on workspace security and privacy, it was revealed that the tactics that are employed by email hackers are not exclusive to Gmail. Instead, these tactics are part of a broader strategy which is used by hackers to retain control over compromised accounts.
Ross also noted that there have been instances where an attacker has not only gained access to an account but has also added a security key or passkey which makes it hard for the real account holder to gain access back. This often occurs when the Gmail user has not implemented phishing-resistant authentication methods.
The original account holder has a maximum of 7 days to use the original recovery phone number to reclaim their account in cases where attackers have altered the recovery phone number.
Tech Journalist
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