Short answer
The usual signs are bounce messages for mail you never sent, contacts receiving spam from your address, or sent items you do not recognise. Change the mailbox password immediately, then check for forwarding rules an attacker may have added.
Note that spam claiming to be *from* your address does not by itself mean the account was broken into — sender addresses are trivial to forge. Proper SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are what stop that forgery being accepted.
Learn more
- My email account is sending spamSigns a mailbox has been compromised, how to secure it, check for rules and forwarders an attacker added, and recover your sending reputation.
- How to change an email account passwordReset or change a mailbox password in DirectAdmin, then update it in every app so they don’t lock the account with failed logins.
- SPF, DKIM and DMARC explainedWhat SPF, DKIM and DMARC each do, how they work together, and the order to set them up so your email reaches inboxes.
Step-by-step
- Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARCIntermediate · 30 min · 8 steps