Email security tips: Why protecting your account matters

We need access to our email inboxes practically every day, which often leads us to prioritizing convenience. We might prefer to log in to the account as quickly as possible and choose a less secure way to do it. Using a simple password, ditching multi-factor authentication, and turning off automatic logouts all deprioritize account security, making it much easier for criminals to strike. If they crack your password, they don’t need to pass extra barriers to log in. Likewise, if they steal your phone, they don’t need to worry about unlocking your account if it never gets logged out.

The good news is that securing an email account doesn’t mean slowing down the login process. You can follow a few email security tips to protect your personal information and prevent cybercriminals from easily gaining access to your account.

Use strong and unique passwords

The easiest way to protect your email account is by using a strong and unique password. That means your password should be at least 15 characters long and contain a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, as well as special symbols.

Alternatively, you can use a passphrase — a sequence of words that only you know. Most major websites recognize spaces between words as special characters, which increases your password strength. You can use a password manager like NordPass to generate a password or passphrase for your account, store it securely, and autofill it each time you need to log in.

Once you have your new password in place, don’t reuse it for any other accounts. For instance, if your email username and password match the credentials you use on other platforms, any breach of one account could endanger the rest. Generally, we recommend creating unique login details for every account you use to reduce the likelihood of your personal data being compromised.

Use MFA (Multi-factor authentication)

Another easy way to protect your account is by switching on multi-factor authentication (MFA). It’s a security measure that adds a quick extra step every time you log in. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a type of MFA often offered by email service providers.

One of the most common authentication methods is verification codes. You can use a dedicated app to routinely generate time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) that verify your login attempts as legitimate. For instance, you can set up NordPass Authenticator on your phone or browser to generate one-time codes and autofill them for you on the login screen. Other authentication methods, like SMS codes, voice codes, and verification emails, are popular but come with security risks. Cybercriminals can use tactics like SIM swapping attacks to spoof SMS authentication. We recommend an authentication app as a more reliable verification method.

Use passkeys

Passkeys are a secure login alternative to passwords. They combine encryption and biometric authentication to let users easily log in by omitting the password step altogether. Although passkeys aren’t yet widely used, most major email service providers let users create a passwordless authentication token.

Passkeys offer a higher level of resilience to data breach attempts. Even if the hacker managed to steal the account’s public key, which is stored on the website’s server, they couldn’t decrypt it without the private key on the user’s device. The key pairs must always match. Otherwise, the account remains locked.

Don’t engage with suspicious emails

Many attacks succeed when unsuspecting users open a convincing email asking them to reset their password by clicking a button. This ploy is often used in phishing attacks. Cybercriminals craft the email and develop a spoofed website that looks like a real password reset portal. But once the user creates a new password, criminals can view it in plain text and use it to log in to their account without their victim’s knowledge.

Always carefully analyze the emails you receive. If you didn’t request a password reset, you’re probably dealing with a phishing email. Many email providers state in their policies that they never request users to provide passwords or other identifiable information. Check all link structures for unusual typos, duplicate symbols, or numbers replacing letters — the telltale signs of a spoofed website. Block the sender to prevent them from contacting you in the future.

Use a decoy email address

To lower the likelihood of your email address being targeted in cyberattacks, you can set up an email mask. The mask is a decoy address that you connect to your regular inbox. It usually looks nothing like your real email address and doesn’t contain any identifiable information. When you create a new account, sign up for a subscription service, or share your email address elsewhere, you can enter the email mask without the sender learning who you are.

Email masks let you manage incoming mail more efficiently. Even if a cybercriminal gains access to your masked email address, they can’t learn more information about you, like accounts linked to your real address. For instance, with NordPass’ Email Masking feature, you can have up to 30 decoy addresses for different situations, letting you maintain a higher level of privacy.

Use email filters

You can increase your email security and reduce the chances of falling for a spam email by setting up filters inside your inbox. Most email providers have default filters that automatically identify and flag suspicious emails, moving them to the junk folder. However, if a spammer manages to bypass these walls and continues to pester you, you can manually create additional filters to block them from sending unwanted emails.

Monitor your data

As a long-term email security strategy, you can use dark web monitoring tools. They automatically monitor the dark web for breach databases, checking if your email address matches any of the content. Tools like Data Breach Scanner can also let you monitor extra information like passwords and credit card details, alerting you as soon as they find matching data. These tools help you efficiently respond to data security incidents and take action to protect your personal information.

How to spot email scams

Spam email is one of the most frequently used methods to steal users’ account details and access those accounts without authorization. To protect yourself from falling for a phishing email, you should know how to identify the typical red flags of this scam tactic.

Social engineering

Social engineering covers a broad range of cyberattacks that pose a threat to email security. Cybercriminals use manipulation to convince their targets into sharing login credentials, financial details, and other valuable data without suspecting foul play. They often pretend to contact users on behalf of reputable companies to instill trust, while simultaneously adding pressure to respond quickly. The most popular social engineering attacks involve phishing. According to the ENISA Threat Landscape 2025 report, phishing attacks accounted for 60% of all recorded incidents between July 2024 and June 2025.

Key features you may come across in a social engineering email scam include:

  • An unusual email structure. A spam email is written to appear convincing, but its structure might not copy a real email perfectly. Scammers use fonts that differ from those used by official companies, making the text look off compared to legitimate emails. Look out for inconsistent font types and sizes.

  • Grammatical errors. Odd sentence structures and incorrect spelling are very common in spam emails. Unlike formal communication that tends to be carefully crafted, the spam email is written to appear urgent and with little care for grammatical accuracy. Analyze the language used and, if you can, compare it to past official communications from the real sender. If you notice inconsistencies in how the sender speaks, you’re likely dealing with a scam.

  • A sense of urgency. When it comes to the email language itself, hackers often try to create a sense of urgency in the target. They use phrases like “Act now” to pressure you into interacting with the email and giving up your sensitive information. If you’re feeling pressured into acting, do the exact opposite — review the content slowly to determine what action, if any, is needed.

  • Spoofed links. The core element of most scam emails is the use of spoofed links. These links typically direct users to websites that imitate a real service provider. They’re often very basic and contain only one working page — usually a form with fields for the user to enter information. Spoofed links aim to gather sensitive information, like login or payment details.

  • Invisible interactive buttons. A scam email often contains an imitation of a classic call-to-action button to get the user to open the spoofed website. However, it can also contain hidden buttons in random sections of the email. You should avoid clicking anywhere on a scam email to avoid opening a risky website.

  • An impersonal greeting. Instead of referring to you by your name or specific website username, spam tends to begin with “Dear Sir/Madam” or “Dear [email username]” if that’s all the identifiable information hackers have about you. However, some impersonal greetings can be used in cold emails, so they are not always a clear indication of spam, and you should take other criteria into consideration.

  • A suspicious email address. Scammers’ email usernames and domains often imitate real service providers, with small adjustments, like a zero in place of “o” or extra dashes. Always review who the email has come from to ensure you don’t interact with a scammer.

  • A file attachment. Some cybercriminals attach a malicious file to their emails. If you download and open it, it can install a virus on your computer and grant criminals backdoor access. However, to ensure stronger email security, most service providers have built-in scanners to check if the files are safe to open.

AI-enhanced phishing

AI technology has opened doors for many new opportunities — including nefarious ones. Cybercriminals have found use in generative AI to create more elaborate scams. They use data analysis to gather precise information and customize scams for particular user groups or even individuals. According to the ENISA Threat Landscape report, by early 2025, AI became a prominent tool for cybercriminals, with large language models (LLMs) being used to some extent in 80% of identified phishing emails.

AI-enhanced phishing emails contain images and text that closely resemble those of genuine brands or people that scammers pretend to be. They overlap with the typical elements of phishing — spoofed links, false content, and a sense of urgency. You can rely on trusted signs to spot an AI-enhanced email:

  • Compare images. If a scammer emails you pretending to be a brand, compare the images in the email and those in the official brand’s communication. Look for inconsistencies and design deviations to identify AI-generated images.

  • Review the language. AI-enhanced scams can use information that pertains to your identity. Compare the language used in the email to prior emails you’ve received from the brand. Sudden changes to the greetings and unusual formatting could point toward a scam.

  • Check the sender’s email address. You can copy the email address and search inside your inbox to see if you’ve received any email messages from it before.

Quishing 

QR code phishing scams, or quishing for short, are becoming more common in online and even physical spaces. Scammers send an email that contains a QR code, urging the user to scan it to complete an important action, like updating personal data or renewing a subscription. The QR code itself is harmless, but the link encoded in it can lead to a spoof website or a malicious file.

The QR code doesn’t reveal any information about its content externally, making quishing scams hard to detect. To stay safe, avoid opening websites encoded in unfamiliar QR codes. To check their legitimacy, you can scan the code, copy the link without entering it, and run it through a malicious website checker to see if it’s legitimate.

Improving email security through network safety

In addition to the account safety and email protection tips we’ve covered, you can also take extra steps to secure your internet access and prevent other personal information from ending up in the wrong hands.

Using public Wi-Fi with a VPN

Criminals often interfere with the traffic of public Wi-Fi connections to gain access to your data. This can expose your browsing history as well as endanger your personal accounts and sensitive information you access while logged in to the public network.

To protect your data from being breached, you should use a virtual private network (VPN) like NordVPN. It lets you select a server to join and encrypts your traffic, letting you browse privately even when you’re connected to public Wi-Fi.

Updating software 

Outdated software can create security vulnerabilities on your device, and cybercriminals can use your inbox to leverage them. You might receive an email from a supposed “software provider” letting you know you can upgrade for free using the attachment. The attachment is a file containing a virus that can make your device vulnerable if installed.

Keep your software up to date — especially when it comes to security patches — but only download new versions from the official websites or upgrade directly in the app. Avoid random files you come across online or receive in your inbox without a reputable source to back them up.

Managing third-party apps

Sometimes, you can come across two very similar email apps in your device’s digital store — one’s real, the other is a copycat. Cybercriminals can place apps in digital stores that mimic the original app, claiming it’s an improved version or an add-on to improve its functionality. Such apps are used to gather device data and, in some instances, can contain keylogging viruses that let hackers track keyboard input to steal login details or other sensitive data.

Before downloading an app, check if the developer is reputable. Look at the reviews — a suspiciously low review number could point toward a scam app. Furthermore, uninstall obsolete apps from your device because they can pose a security risk in the future. Avoid third-party extensions for your inbox because they could compromise your email security.

Tip: Google no longer supports third-party apps that require users to enter their Google Account login credentials. This will help you identify less secure apps more easily and avoid logging in to a spoofed app.

What to do if your email account is hacked

If your email account got hacked, don’t panic. Immediately take email security measures to maintain your own access and prevent cybercriminals from endangering your account’s integrity.

1. Change your password immediately

Your first step after discovering an account breach is to get ahead of the hackers and change your email password immediately. Use a unique and complex combination of characters that only you know. You shouldn’t use an already existing password or one that closely resembles the current one. Do not reuse the new password for any other accounts in the future.

2. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)

In your account’s security settings, switch on multi-factor authentication if you haven’t done so already. We recommend using an authenticator app to generate one-time access codes. Criminals won’t be able to log in without entering the code that’s only available on your device. Some authentication apps will also send a push notification alerting you about a login attempt.

3. End all active sessions

To ensure that cybercriminals can’t access your email inbox, you need to end all ongoing sessions. This will log you out of your devices as well. Only end the sessions after changing your password and enabling MFA — this will ensure all new sessions use the updated login credentials, and cybercriminals won’t be able to use the old password to regain access.

4. Review account settings

Check your account security and privacy settings. If hackers managed to log in to your account, they may change your contact information to attempt to override your new password. Revert any unfamiliar changes, like those to phone numbers, names, or security settings.

5. Update account recovery options

Double-check your account’s recovery options. Make sure the recovery details are unchanged. Remove any unfamiliar information, like extra email addresses or phone numbers, to prevent criminals from accessing the recovery steps. If you need to contact your email’s support team, having accurate recovery options will help verify that you’re the legitimate account owner.

6. Scan your devices for malware/viruses

If you suspect that your account was breached by a compromised file, run an antivirus and quarantine any malware it finds. Delete suspicious files from your device. We recommend keeping a regular backup of essential files in case they’re compromised.

7. Review your inbox and outbox

Check any incoming and outgoing mail you may have missed when your login credentials were compromised. See if any emails were sent from your email address to spoof other users. If so, inform the recipients that your account was breached. Flag suspicious emails as spam to avoid receiving them in the future.

8. Change passwords of related accounts

If you’ve reused your email account’s password on other accounts, update their login credentials as well. Run a dark web scan for your email address to check if accounts using it have been impacted by the same breach or have appeared on other dark web databases.

Bottom line

Adopting secure email management practices can help you retain data security — and it doesn’t have to mean that accessing your email account will become a hassle. You can easily upgrade your email credentials and keep your account secure. With NordPass Premium, you can generate and store new, strong login credentials, manage two-factor authentication, and even create a mask to hide your email address from unwanted senders.

Tools like Data Breach Scanner and Password Health help you ensure your accounts can be protected as soon as NordPass detects a vulnerability. With a little aid, you can keep access to your email safe and practical.