What to do if your account is sending spam (Yahoo)

This article offers several important steps that should be taken in the event of:

• Accounts sending spam
• My account may have been compromised
• Getting bounced messages for mail that didn't send such as Failed Delivery or MAILER-DAEMON messages
• IM is telling my contacts to take an IQ quiz or how to win a prize when logged out of account
• Strange logins from countries I've never visited
• Account is asking for my contacts to send money or provide their password
• Someone else is using account to send email
• Should I close my account because it is sending spam?
• My account has been hacked.
• My password doesn't work anymore.
• Someone deleted information from my account
• Someone changed my account information.

If you suspect that your Yahoo! account is being used to send spam messages to your contacts, our users have found the following steps successful in combating the problem:

Resetting Your Password

• If your Yahoo! account's password has been compromised, the fastest (and easiest) way to stop spam from being sent is to replace it with a new, strong password which will be more difficult for spammers to guess.
• To learn more about setting up a strong password, please see this help article.
• Also, be sure to visit the Yahoo! Security Center for more information about keeping your account secure.

Reviewing Your Alternate Email Address Information

• While changing your password will resolve most spam issues, it is important to check that your account's alternate email address has not been modified. If it has been, the party responsible for the spamming may be able to regain access to your account.
• To view your account's alternate email address, go to the Account Information page, under "Contact Information," select Choose how Yahoo! contacts you.
• If you don't recognize the email on file, click here for the steps to update/change it.
• Note: Should your account continue to send spam after completing these steps, we strongly recommend that you use a trusted anti-virus program or malware protection suite to review your system. Malware programs (key loggers, viruses, worms, etc.) are usually installed on your system without your knowledge by visiting an infected website and are intended to capture sensitive information and relay it to a third party.
• To learn more about protecting your PC from these threats, go to the Yahoo! Security Center.
• If these steps do not resolve your issues, please click here to learn how to combat an account that continues to send spam.

• If your account has been compromised and you are missing emails, contacts, or your "Reply-to address"/"From name" has been modified, please review our article on Restoring your Yahoo! account.
• To learn more about your account's login activity history, click here to learn about that feature on your account.