Yahoo Email Account Hijacked?

[factor-fiction]

I have couple of spare email accounts that I use on yahoo, normally for dealing with commercial organisations where i have only a temporary relationship (eg energy suppliers as I change each year) and with organisations I'm not sure I can trust with my main email address.

This weekend it was clear from my inbox (lots of automated replies from organisations saying 'thank you for your email- we will respond....') that an email had been sent out in my name, with my name as the title, to everyone in my contacts list. However there was no record in my Sent box of anything being sent out so i'm not sure whether they had gone from my email account or someone had just got hold of my contacts and sent the emails out in my name.

I deleted all my contacts in the address book and changed the password on my email account. I also changed my email address on the records of a few contacts - eg my energy supplier. So everything seems okay for now.

My query is how did this happen? As far as i know I have clicked on no dubious links in emails on that account.

Thanks

[netibiza]

This has happened to me on Yahoo also, but yahoo actually informed me that I had been hacked from Poland!!.. My email account is only for friends and nothing to do with business or banks so they didn't get much. I just changed my passport and hopefully things are OK now. Nuisance!

[factor-fiction]

Thanks, netibiza.
Changing your passport was a bit drastic though!

I'm just not sure how to stop it happening again. In particular I don't want it to happen on my main email account . My email address was not an obvious one, nor was my password, so I can only assume it was a trojan that got in and used my address book, but I'm puzzled as to why they emails don't appear in my Sent folder.

[netibiza]

Passport!!! password!
When mine send out spam (it has happened twice now) it only went to a few people who I do not get in contact with much, not all my contacts, and didn't show up in Sent folder either, so had to email all of them to explain what had happened. I just get embarrassed if they think it was actually me sending out these things! First time a computer geek friend advised me what was happening and said change password. Don't know what else can be done.

[Brinjal]

it has happened to me once. i changed my password and it hasnt happened again

[Buenchico]

Just because someone puts your address in the 'return' field of their email, it doesn't mean that they're using your account to send those emails. (They could have used any account). Please see my post here for a more detailed explanation:
http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Technology/Question1220536.html#answer-7777855

[Buenchico]

Oh hang on, I've just read your post more thoroughly. If they've used your contacts list they may well have hacked into your account. I simply wouldn't use either Yahooo or the dreaded Hotmail anyway. GMX is far better:
http://www.gmx.co.uk/

[Nibble]

Note to Chris......

Go & wash mouth/fingers, disinfect keyboard....... Then go to naughty step, (for uttering the dread H.....l word) :)

[factor-fiction]

Thanks everyone