Help! My Gmail Account Was Hacked! How Do I Clean This Up?

Reader Lisa would like to ask the Consumerist hive mind for advice on cleaning up her recently hacked Gmail account. Here’s her story:

Lisa writes:

My Gmail Account was hacked this morning. I discovered it when I tried to login to check my email around 11:40am and my username/password was rejected. Luckily I had a secondary email tied to my account so I was able to reset my password. Then after I logged in, I found out that a spam email had been sent from my account saying that I was stuck in London and needed money. I also saw that the hacker had changed the “reply to” email address in my account.

The actions I’ve taken so far are:
· Changed my Gmail Account password and security question

· Removed the hackers email from the “reply to” setting

· Updated the passwords on my bank accounts

I admit that I only have 4-5 passwords that I use for all my online accounts. The one for Gmail had been the password that I use most frequently.

I’m looking for advice on what else I need to do to recover from this. Is it enough to have just changed my Gmail password, or should I close that Gmail account and open a new one? (That seems extreme to me, but that’s why I’m asking for help.) I know that ideally I should have more unique passwords for each online account, but I can’t fathom how to keep track of all those passwords. How do other people manage this?

It sounds like you’re on the right track. I poked around our archive and found some password creation and management advice.

Create A Different Password For Every Site And Never Forget A Single One

How To Easily Remember A Different Password For Every Site

So, Consumerist hive mind, Lisa wants your help. Should she keep that Gmail account?

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