Do you suspect that your email account has been hijacked?  Are your friends receiving strange emails that seem to be coming from your email account?  A few things could be happening, but here are some steps that you can take.

The first thing you should do is change your email password.  Try not to use a real word or phrase, and if you can, add some capital letters, numbers and even symbols.

Then, we need to figure out if your email account has been compromised or spoofed.  Now that you have changed your email password, you should scan your computer for viruses and malware.  If your system appears to be clear of malware and is otherwise running fine, then it is most likely that your email has been spoofed.

What is spoofing?  That is where a spammer sends out emails from their computer, but changes the “from” address in the email header to your address.  That way, it will look like the email came from you, and you will receive all the bounce-backed messages.  Spammers use spoof email headers to fool spam filters into letting the message through.  Unfortunately, there is not much you can do to prevent or fix a spoofed email account.  You can change your email account, but eventually, the spammers will move along and spoof someone else.

The best solution, long term, is to have at least two email accounts.  Your main address is the one that you tell your close friends and family, and give out to trusted companies such as your bank or insurance company.  Then, create a second account (Gmail is a good choice) that you use on Facebook, YouTube, or any other place where you have to enter your email address to gain entry.  Because this account is not as important, you can easily change it whenever you need to.