Is hacking your webchat illegal

Chocolatedrop

I have had my email account hacked and my web chat emailed to others, is this illegal and an invasion of privacy

Lil306

Yes, it's illegal....

It's illegal because it's an unathorised attempt at gaining access, and permission was not obtained

Chocolatedrop

Thank you for that information. Could I also ask this:

This person has emailed the content of this chat to other people, can the content be divulged in a police investigation.

Vuze

If you feel it is a violation of your privacy then it is and most would think so too. If it is illegal, this depends on the laws in your country, but assuming you are based in the UK, EU or US, then most likely yes this is illegal too.

What have you done to remedy the situation? Have you tried contacting your email provider, i.e. Google, Hotmail, Yahoo etc directly? How do you know your webchats have been shared with others, where they posted on a website? If so, you can contact the web hosting companies that keep those sites online and report it to their abuse departments.

the182guy

Chocolatedrop wrote: »

Thank you for that information. Could I also ask this:

This person has emailed the content of this chat to other people, can the content be divulged in a police investigation.

Phone them and ask, but I don't think they will be interested. Best thing to do is find out how they got in and cover up the hole.

Chocolatedrop

Thank you both for replying its much appreciated.

I emailed Google 3 days ago but havent had any reply and of course I won’t now as I have deleted my account.

I know that contents of the chat have been sent to other people because the recipients have told me.

Unfortunately I don’t know how they got in and am just taking every precaution I can.

Just hope that will be the end of it now but it has made me extremely wary of the internet.

Lil306

Chocolatedrop wrote: »

Thank you both for replying its much appreciated.

I emailed Google 3 days ago but havent had any reply and of course I won’t now as I have deleted my account.

I know that contents of the chat have been sent to other people because the recipients have told me.

Unfortunately I don’t know how they got in and am just taking every precaution I can.

Just hope that will be the end of it now but it has made me extremely wary of the internet.

Try scanning your PC with Spybot and a good antivirus

Chocolatedrop

Lil306 wrote: »

Try scanning your PC with Spybot and a good antivirus

Thank you for replying. I have scanned my PC and nothing abnormal showed up except for the normal tracking cookies. I think my account was hacked through the actual google email address.

I just don't want this to happen again so want to take all the precautions I can.

Leopard

Chocolatedrop wrote: »

Thank you for that information. Could I also ask this:

This person has emailed the content of this chat to other people, can the content be divulged in a police investigation.

Yes it can. And if it reveals you've done anything illegal you could be prosecuted for it.

Moreover, certain categories of people are now legally required to inform the police (whether they want to or not) if they become aware of illegal activity. Should they fail to do so, they themselves can be prosecuted for that: it's now a criminal offence.

They're also forbidden to tell you that they've informed on you. That would be a criminal offence, too.

(Tony Blair introduced this one and the MPs you elected voted for it.)

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2000/ukpga_20000023_en_1

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2002/ukpga_20020029_en_1

Chocolatedrop

Leopard wrote: »

Yes it can. And if it reveals you've done anything illegal you could be prosecuted for it.

Moreover, certain categories of people are now legally required to inform the police (whether they want to or not) if they become aware of illegal activity. Should they fail to do so, they themselves can be prosecuted for that: it's now a criminal offence.

They're also forbidden to tell you that they've informed on you. That would be a criminal offence, too.

(Tony Blair introduced this one and the MPs you elected voted for it.)

Many thanks for that info, I didn't know that, there was nothing illegal in the account

Leopard

Wasn't moralising: just warning you (and everybody else) what the legal situation is on this one, now.