Fake Ellacard invitations or greeting cards were sent from my email address – what should I do?

Ellacard FAQ: Fake Ellacard invitations or greeting cards were sent from my email address – what should I do? (Troubleshooting / Fake invitations and greeting cards)

If people are telling you they received an Ellacard invitation or greeting card from your email address, but you didn’t send any, someone else has access to your email account. Ellacard itself has not been breached, and contacting Ellacard first won’t help – the break-in is at your email account. Take the following steps immediately:

What to do, in this order

1. Change your email password

Change the password to the affected email and turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for the email account.
Check your mail settings for forwarding rules or filters you didn’t create – whoever got in often leaves one behind so they keep receiving your mail after you change the password.
Check for a "sign out everywhere" option in your email’s security settings and select it.
If you used the same password as your email anywhere else, change it there too.
Change the passwords and enable two-factor authentication to any financial institutions (banks, credit cards, etc).

2. Find which contacts were sent the fake email

Look in your sent folder, and in the trash – a hacker might try to delete the evidence. If you do not know who was contacted, your safest option is to assume all of your email’s contacts were emailed. Note that the people who received it can’t tell it wasn’t you. It came from your real email address, and might even include your real name on it.

3. Warn your contacts

Once your password is changed and you know who was contacted, tell them by text, phone or a fresh email. You can copy this:

My email account was hacked and used to send a fake Ellacard invitation or greeting card. Please don’t open it – delete it. If you already clicked a link in the email, read this guide from Ellacard: What should I do if I received a fake Ellacard invitation or greeting card?

4. Tell your email provider

Report that your account was used to send phishing. Providers can see the sending activity we can’t, and it helps them protect other customers.

5. Contact Ellacard

Email Ellacard at fraud@ellacard.com and let us know that fake invitations or greeting cards have been sent from your account. We’ll find the invitation on our platform, remove it and the account the criminals created, and report the link.

Why the fake email has Ellacard’s pictures on it

Even though a fake email carries genuine Ellacard artwork, that does not mean Ellacard sent it, that Ellacard has been hacked, or that you created an Ellacard account. Hackers can use our platform to build a real greeting card or invitation, then alter a legitimate email into one with malicious links or attachments, and then send it from your hacked email account. The pictures are only there to make the email look real – the email itself came from your mailbox, not from us, so it is very important you follow the steps provided above before contacting us. How scammers create a fake invitation It is quick and easy, and usually takes just three steps 1 Build a real invitation Genuine artwork and formatting, so the email looks real 2 Swap the links The buttons now lead to their own malicious website 3 Send it out Often from a hacked personal email to its whole contact list

If you also opened the fake card yourself

If you accidentally clicked a link in the fake email, read our guide on what to do if you received a fake Ellacard invitation or greeting card.For the full picture of how this scam works and how to tell a real invitation from a fake one, read our guide: How to spot a fake invitation scam and check any invite link.My email sent a fake Ellacard invitationMy contacts got a fake Ellacard invitation from meSomeone sent Ellacard invitations from my email addressMy email was hacked and sent Ellacard invitationsThere is an Ellacard account in my name that I didn’t create