How can you identify an email that has been hacked? If an email from someone you know (or especially someone you don’t know) sounds the least bit fishy or strange, don’t click on anything in it or do anything it suggests you do, such as buy a gift card for them Instead, call the person who sent it and ask if they sent it.
What should you do if you get an email scam? Don’t do anything it tells you to do. Don’t give any information, buy anything, or click on anything. If you know the person, call them and say you think their email might have been hacked. They may have no other way of knowing they have been “infected”.
What can you do to protect your email from being hacked? If you get hacked, the hacker can use your address book to send emails (in your name) to the people in the address book. To protect yourself and your friends, change your password regularly and make it something hard for someone to guess. Consider the email provider you use and their reputation for repelling hacks.