Possible hacked AOL account

tomsutton529

Hi folks,

Simply Be have set up acount on there website (without credit) using my AOL email address, but when i used the forgot password option (as they never gave me a password in the first place) it came back with the same password as my AOL account.
my password is very strong and only i know it.

my laptop is free of all infections (scaned using norton, torjan remover 6 and malwarebytes Anti-Malware) and my work PC is part of the NHS network so thats like fort knox.

all this came to light when a letter was sent to an address i havent lived at for 10 years (my fathers address). the letter wanted some more details about me which i assume was to get me credit.

so how on earth has this happend, i know the net isnt safe and its easy to get email address etc but how the hell did they get my password.

macman

I don't understand. If they have accessed your account using your password, then the first thing they would do is change your password so you can't get back into it. If you can still access the account, can't you just change the password to keep them out?
Forgive me if I have misunderstood.

tomsutton529

noooo, i have never created the simply be acount n the first place. they have done it for me without my permsion and used the details from my AOL acount (including password).

is that any clearer... its a complicated thing to explain without hand gestures and a powerpoint presentation.


thanks for having a look anyway and hopefully someone will either tell me the same thing happend to them or tell me how on earth it happend.

macman

I have no idea how they got your password, but while you can still access your AOL account I suggest you change the password. Once that is secure you can deal with Simply Be.
Can you log into the Simply Be account and then close it -or also change the password?
I can't see the logic in anyone hacking in and not immediately changing the username and password-they may have access, but they have not hijacked the account if is still using your email address and if you can still get into it.

tomsutton529

macman wrote: »

I have no idea how they got your password, but while you can still access your AOL account I suggest you change the password. Once that is secure you can deal with Simply Be.
Can you log into the Simply Be account and then close it -or also change the password?
I can't see the logic in anyone hacking in and not immediately changing the username and password-they may have access, but they have not hijacked the account if is still using your email address and if you can still get into it.

i cant see the logic in setting up an acount for someone who cant get credit anywhere, at an address they havent lived at for 10 years and then having the cheek to ask me to fill out a form to try and get credit.

im changing all my passwords and scaning every computer ive used in the last few months.

old_codger1

If the only people that knew your AOL password were you and AOL then, by definition, it's either AOL's internal security being lax or a machine you've used to access AOL has a virus, password sniffer or something.

To ask the obvious question, what do AOL say?

tomsutton529

Is it possible for a trojan to get my passwords and other information?

and would the scum doing it want to create a catalog account in my name hoping that I would get credit on the account thus allowing them to order things in my name? basicly ID theft.....


AOL are keeping queit at the mo, but i think ive got to the bottom of it on the GF's laptop that i remember using months ago....

old_codger1

tomsutton529 wrote: »

Is it possible for a trojan to get my passwords and other information?

If the information is stored on the machine somewhere then it can be obtained if they have enough access to the machine so unless you type your AOL password in every time you connect to them, (and even then key-capture stuff can get it), then it's got to be stored somewhere.

tomsutton529 wrote: »

and would the scum doing it want to create a catalog account in my name hoping that I would get credit on the account thus allowing them to order things in my name? basicly ID theft.....

That would be my guess, yes. They'd then use that to obtain more accounts for other things using that 'proof' of ID to get them.

tomsutton529 wrote: »

AOL are keeping quiet at the mo, but i think ive got to the bottom of it on the GF's laptop that i remember using months ago....

You entered your AOL password on another machine?? Are we talking about your AOL email password or ADSL access password or some sort of account password?

Does AOL only have one password for all three?

I only ask because I can see you entering an email password on another machine to access a web-based email interface but the other ones???

Anyway, worth thinking about, eh!