Did you ever wonder how hackers hack email passwords? Or ever found yourself in dire need to know about how to hack into someone’s email account?
At first, it seems impossible since you know that using a strong password, enabling 2-factor authentication, and following basic security checklists will essentially make your email account immune to penetration and if at all it is possible to hack email, You will conclude that it’s a very challenging job to do for an average person without any computer security knowledge.
But is it easy and straightforward? No. However, if your attack is cleverly planned even the most informed user will fall for it.
Apart from basic computer knowledge, Email hacking requires creativity and most importantly, Patience.
I get dozens of emails every day asking me to hack into their partner’s email account for they suspect them to be cheating. I also get contacted when people’s email accounts get hacked by their friends or partners.
Remember one thing, For the most part, when your email account gets hacked, it’s more likely because of your ignorance and not because of something the Email service provider had any involvement of. Believe it.
Humans are the weak link in all security systems and hackers exploit the same weakness.
To address the above issue in this post, I have tried my best to explain in detail four fundamental methods on how to hack an email.
So let’s begin with the Effective techniques used by any professional email hacker.
Although there are several other modern ways to hack email accounts which are mostly used by hackers targeting high-value users, they all boil down to the below-mentioned four fundamental techniques.
See: Modern ways to Hack Email
Practical ways to hack email password in 2020
Let’s admit it almost all of us use Gmail as an email service, and a considerable amount of people access email on smartphones using the Gmail app.
Decade-old phishing attacks aren’t active these days because of strong security awareness and features of email providers such as 2-factor authentication, IP whitelisting, etc.
Unless you can carry out highly sophisticated phishing attacks that can bypass SMS 2FA, It is not feasible to hack username and password.
It is high time we need to discuss advanced mobile phishing attacks that can take care of multifactor authentication and take control of the victim’s email account. But before we jump on it, let’s start with capturing keystrokes with Spy apps first.
So to hack someone’s Gmail account, it’s critical that we hack or take control of their smartphone. One way to do it is by installing a “spy app” on their smartphone that will record everything they do on their phone, including typed passwords.
Using Spy App – Hack into someone’s email without their password
The basic idea behind the Spy app is that it’s a piece of code that needs to be installed on your target device and when successfully installed, it records everything that is typed on the keyboard or any other activity like calling, browser history, social media activity, etc.
This is the most straightforward technique used by hackers to steal their victim’s sensitive details, such as email passwords or credit card details. However, you either need physical access to the device or if the target device is not accessible, you need to convince your victim to install the spy app by any means.
Spying on Smartphones
Hacking into someone’s email account does not essentially require you to know or change their passwords. You could hack their account and read sent & received emails, their contacts, etc. without the need for a password reset.
With a spy app, you can hack into someone’s email without their password. The spy app that we at hacker9 recommend is called mSpy. Apart from email hacking, mSpy can log phone calls, spy on text messages, WhatsApp monitoring, log passwords, etc., and most importantly, it is compatible with both Android & iPhone.
Here’s how mSpy works:
You can read more about how to install the mSpy app on cellphones and track Gmail or any other Email app to read sent/received emails.
The biggest challenge is to install this app on your victim’s smartphone somehow. It is much easier to get this app on your spouse’s phone rather than your friend’s phone. You will need to learn a few social engineering skills that will let you casually get hold of other people’s smartphones.
Installing it remotely on your victim’s smartphone is possible as long as you can convey them or trick them into installing it.
Once installed the app runs in complete stealth mode, monitoring all the activities and capturing keystrokes including email passwords.
Spying on desktop computers
Most spy apps for desktop computers will not work in the presence of Antivirus or Anti-malware apps. I have curated a list of free Keyloggers (spyware) for windows machines. You can make use of them while your Antivirus software is turned off.
If you can physically access your victim’s computer like in case you want to monitor your home computer to spy on your spouse or kids, then you can get yourself a hardware-based keylogger. It’s a USB device that can be quickly inserted between the keyboard and the computer to capture all the data entered by the victim.
Keystrokes are collected in a temporary file and are stored in the flash memory, which can be later accessed over WiFi or by connecting it to your computer.
The hardware which is displayed above is a PS2 keyboard compatible keyboard. However, these days we mostly use USB keyboards in our homes or offices. With advancements, we now have an inbuilt WiFi technology in these hardware keyloggers which enables it to communicate with its owner for an exchange of logged data.
Checkout: Wi-Fi USB Hardware Keylogger (2GB)
With an inbuilt WiFi chip, you can now easily pick up the information containing passwords, credit card details, or anything that is typed on the keyboard over the air. If desired, the keylogger can be moved to another computer to retrieve the data. If you are looking for an older version (PS2 keyboard compatibility), read the best hardware keyloggers.
Prevention (BETTER safe than SORRY)
- Never click on any suspicious links
- Never install any Software patch or any Keygen, unless you download it from a legit site.
Phishing – Stealing password by creating a fake login page
Phishing is a criminal process of attempting to steal sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, credit card details by disguising it as a trustworthy website. It is one of the most widely used social engineering techniques to hack email just because it is easy and affordable to execute.
This can be the simplest way of tricking someone into giving you their login details or private information and even highly educated IT professionals can fall for it.
The only clear identification of a website is its URL!
Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or via instant messengers, and it often misleads people to enter details at a deceptive website whose look and feel are almost identical to the real one.
To hack your Gmail account, a hacker may send you an email containing a link to the fake login page of Google that appears to have come from the Google team, requesting you to change the password or update personal information. Or he may create an online persona of your boss or coworker and send you an email invite to edit documents on Google Drive or participate in Google Hangout calls.
If by chance you fall for it and enter your login credentials at the fake login page, the details are automatically transferred to the hacker’s server while you will be redirected to the main page of your account or email dashboard.
Have enabled two-factor authentication for your Gmail account and thought you’re safe? You are not.
Attackers can easily defeat some forms of two-factor authentication to steal credentials and maintain access to victims’ accounts. You can read my recent post that discusses “phishing two-factor authentication codes“.
Even scammers make use of phishing attacks to loot their victims. They usually send phishing e-mails that appear to have come from a bank, or a credit card company — requesting verification of details.
Also see: New phishing strategy 2018
Please note that any email provider or any bank will never ask you to validate your account by email, nor will they ask for verification information without a support request being processed.
Take a look at this phishing email set-up to hack Apple ID:
This technique has a 70-90% success rate because its success entirely depends on the user, who is bound to make a mistake and log in to the phishing site.
Read More: Phishing – How to create a Fake login Page?
Guessing or resetting email passwords
Password Guessing is a type of social engineering technique that deals with manipulating someone’s mind to figure out his personal information. It requires excellent social skills and thinking power.
Here the hacker knows the victim very well. The hacker could be your girlfriend, boyfriend, or sometimes a family member.
Also, he might be your online friend with whom you share your profile details including ‘date of birth’, ‘cellphone no’, and other favorite things such as cuisines, music, movies, etc.
This information is enough for a hacker to start guessing your email password or the security question of the email account and in that way reset the password and put his password and login into the account. And there is a high probability that he will guess your security question and answer correctly.
Man in the middle attack
Will be updated soon.
Tip: Beware of scammers pretending to be professional Email hackers
How to protect yourself from email hack?
Users often find themselves in a dilemma about how to escape the email hack problem. The below-mentioned tips are helpful for people who use email or any type of online account which needs login credentials to access the service.
- Try to keep your password more complicated with a mixture of numerical, alphabets & symbols. This will not only keep you away from bruit force attack but also it takes much time for others to sniff or lookup your password by shoulder sniffing. Also, your must try to adopt passphrase instead of password.
- Never copy-paste your passwords into login fields, your browser & other apps on your device can easily access your clipboard data and copy/sniff the same.
- No matter what browser the user uses, all of them are hotbed for hacking. So, keep updating your web browsers whenever the new update releases. Always try to use add-ons/extensions that helps in identifying phishing websites, prevent login credentials getting into wrong hands and thus prevent your email getting hacked.
- Don’t ever click on suspicious links in the emails even if it arrives from legitimate address (email spoofing is real). Chunk emails from phishing websites are used for email hacking. Phishing emails are difficult to trace, if you are unsure of the legitimacy of the email or website, copy the link and visit it in incognito mode of your browser.
- Always use a single credit card for online purchases. Using single credit card for online transactions is easy to remember your previous transactions and easier to monitor changes in strange way.
- Shoulder attack or shoulder sniffing: make sure there is no one behind you attempting to peak your password. Also do not make any sticky notes about your password.
- After downloading any software or program from unofficial websites, make sure you scan downloaded app/software by your antivirus software. Better, always download apps/software from app stores .
- Your password is like your underwear, You need to keep changing it occasionally.
Finally, don’t consider only risk-based scenarios or what type of attack will manifest your security. A person should prepare for the highest risk factors.
Many people make their decisions considering for particular scenario, however, this is a wrong practice not to get hacked. Rather, think about how regular and normal people can access your data easily because a hacker goes by this path only.
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