Your email can unlock crucial information for people with bad intentions. Here's what someone can do with your email address—without your password.
What Can Someone Do with Your Email Address Without a Password?
Updated on Mar. 24, 2025
Recently, I received an email notification stating that my local hospital system’s online portal had a data breach. In other words, cybercriminals had hacked into it and accessed certain information stored in the system. The letter told me not to worry: The hackers didn’t get credit card info, dates of birth or Social Security numbers. However, my email address may have been compromised. Despite the letter’s attempt to reduce my fear, I began to wonder: What can someone do with my email address without my password?
A lot, it turns out. Many people use the same email across different platforms—banking, social media, online shopping and work accounts. Hackers can exploit this to their advantage, using tactics like phishing, identity theft and email spoofing to cause serious damage to your personal and financial life.
To help you best protect yourself, Reader’s Digest spoke with Alex Hamerstone, advisory solutions director at cybersecurity firm TrustedSec, and Greg Kelley, chief technology officer at the digital forensics company Vestige Digital Investigations. Read on to learn more about what someone can do with your email address and how to use the experts’ top tech tips to stop them.
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What can someone do with my email address without a password?
Once a hacker knows your email address, both your personal and financial information—along with details about your friends, family, and contacts—could be at risk. “Your email address can often be used to associate you with multiple accounts and services and, in many cases, can provide other information about you, such as where you work,” says Hamerstone.
Hackers may even identify where you bank and which social media accounts you use, uncovering more private details than you might expect. The risks become particularly concerning when you consider that most people use the same email address across numerous platforms. Kelley emphasizes that the danger increases with the longevity and widespread use of your email address. “It really depends on how long you have had your email address, how often you share it and how many different sites you use the same address [on],” he says.
If you aren’t careful, you could unknowingly provide hackers with even more information, making it easier for them to exploit your identity. Keep reading to discover the top ways cybercriminals misuse email addresses—without ever needing your password.
1. Send phishing emails
Ask any cybersecurity expert, “What can someone do with my email address without a password?” and they’ll tell you that phishing is a top concern. These deceptive attacks have evolved significantly in recent years, becoming increasingly difficult to detect.
“The biggest risk to someone having your email address,” Hamerstone says, “is that they can use it for phishing attacks.
How it works
Hackers send fraudulent emails that appear to come from trusted sources—such as banks, online retailers or even government agencies. Their goal? To trick you into taking action. “[They] try to convince you to take action, whether that action is to give them money, access to your accounts or personal information that they can use to steal your identity,” Hamerstone explains.
A common tactic is sending an urgent email claiming there’s a problem with your account. The email contains a link directing you to a fake website that looks legitimate. When you log in with your email and password, the scammers steal your credentials.
“These types of emails are very common,” says Kelley. “People fall for these emails because the emails are carefully crafted, using icons and wording copied from legitimate emails.”
Phishing attacks are often the starting point for more sophisticated cybercrime. “When a hacker knows your email address, they have half of your confidential information. All they need now is the password,” Kelley warns. If they have that, scammers could access your email account too, and that’s when the serious damage starts.
How to avoid it
To block phishing emails, Hamerstone recommends setting up multifactor authentication. “That way, even if a hacker has your email address and password, they will still be prevented from accessing your account, in most cases,” he says. Even if hackers steal your password, they won’t be able to access your account without the secondary verification code.
If you reuse passwords across multiple sites, one stolen password could compromise all your accounts. Create unique, complex passwords for each online service using a reputable password manager. This ensures that a breach of one account doesn’t compromise your entire digital life.
Install trusted anti-phishing browser extensions and email-filtering tools that can detect and quarantine suspicious messages before they reach your inbox. Additionally, never click links or download attachments from suspected phishing emails. Instead, go directly to the company’s website to verify any issues. You can always call the company to find out if the message is legitimate.
2. Spoof an email address
In addition to sending scam emails to your account, attackers can spoof your email address to scam other people as well.
How it works
Hackers create a fake sender address that closely resembles a legitimate one, making small, hard-to-spot changes—such as adding a period, replacing a letter with a number or slightly altering the domain name. Then, using that spoofed address, they send email messages containing harmful malware, fake invoices or requests for money or personal information.
Hackers often impersonate well-known companies like Amazon or PayPal to trick recipients into clicking malicious links. Worse, if you accidentally reveal your email password, they can access your contacts and send spoofed emails to everyone you know, making it seem like fraudulent emails are coming directly from you.
Spoofing techniques have become increasingly sophisticated, with attackers creating near-perfect replicas of corporate email templates and signature blocks. “People get a large quantity of email and don’t necessarily know how to identify if an email is spoofed,” Hamerstone says.
How to avoid it
While email providers have significantly improved their ability to identify and filter spoofed messages, staying vigilant is still important. One effective technique involves hovering over the sender’s name (without clicking) until the sending address is shown. If it doesn’t match the displayed name, it’s likely a spoof.
It’s also a good idea to check for tiny differences in spelling or punctuation in the sender’s name and email address (think: Amaz0n versus Amazon). If an email appears to be from a friend or colleague but seems suspicious, confirm with them directly. Using email providers with strong anti-spoofing filters, such as Gmail, Outlook and ProtonMail, can help block suspicious messages before they reach your inbox.
3. Stalk you
Even without a password, your email address alone can expose personal details that put you at risk—especially if someone is trying to stalk you.
How it works
“Your identity is pretty easy to tie back to your email address,” Hamerstone says, “especially if you have an uncommon name.” Many people use their email addresses across forums, social media and online services, often linking them to their real name or physical address. Some even include personal details in their email username itself. Cybercriminals—or even obsessive individuals—can use this information to track down your workplace, social media profiles or even your home address.
Imagine this unsettling scenario: Someone armed with just your email address conducts a deep online search, gathering details from multiple sources—your LinkedIn profile, forum posts, app reviews and public records. Piece by piece, they build a detailed picture of your life, habits and personal connections—without you even realizing it.
People can also use an online “reverse email lookup” tool, which will tell them the real name associated with that email address and possibly other information, like your physical address and phone number.
“These tools can run from paid services—with accurate and vetted databases that are sold to businesses and others—to other sites that just scrape the internet looking to associate names with email addresses,” Hamerstone adds. “The amount of additional information these sites can provide really depends on how you use your email address. If you sign up for things with your email address and physical address, those things can be associated.”
How to avoid it
It’s smart to have different email addresses for different purposes. You could have one that you use only with personal friends and family members, one for online shopping, one for banking and so on. That way, your online profile doesn’t automatically lead to your true identity.
“If it’s your first and last name, then it is much easier, obviously, to tie back to you than if it is something random or several nouns,” Hamerstone says.
In addition, if one of your email addresses gets compromised, at least the damage is limited to that one. Hamerstone adds that Apple and other companies offer one-time-use email addresses that you can use to sign up for things instead of using your real email address. It also makes sense to lock down the security settings on your social media accounts as much as possible.
4. Expose personal information about you
Cybercriminals can use your email address to uncover personal details about you. This can potentially lead to blackmail or doxxing, a form of cyberattack in which someone reveals personal information that you had hoped to keep anonymous.
How it works
Let’s say you frequently post online under the username Sportsfan123. If someone wants to expose or blackmail you, they only need to search for that username across different websites, explains Hamerstone.
Once they find enough clues—such as a forum post with personal details or an old comment linking back to your real identity—they can piece together your private information and publish it online.
How to avoid it
Don’t reuse the same username across multiple sites, and avoid including any personally identifying information with such posts. Consider using privacy-focused services that mask your real email address when signing up for forums or social platforms.
5. Sign you up for unwanted subscriptions or services
Remember when pranksters would sign people up for unwanted magazine or music club subscriptions? Cybercriminals now use your email address for similar online scams—without you even knowing.
How it works
Once someone has your email address, they can sign you up for anything from free dating apps to spammy newsletters. They probably can’t do a lot of damage, financially or otherwise, Hamerstone says, because most of these will require the user to confirm the email address. However, the annoyance factor is high, and some people have reported receiving thousands of such sign-ups.
How to avoid it
Be selective about where you share your email address—avoid posting it publicly or using it for untrusted websites. Use different emails for different purposes—one for personal use, another for online shopping and a separate one for business transactions. Also, consider using disposable or alias email addresses for temporary sign-ups.
6. Access your online accounts
Attackers can’t access your online accounts with just your email address—at least not without stealing your password first. Unfortunately, phishing scams help hackers get your password, and once they have that, they can do a considerable amount of damage.
Once they’re able to log in to your email account, they can learn the passwords to any online accounts that use your email address as the username.
How it works
After a successful phishing scam gives them access to your email account, the scammers use it to learn the password to all of your other accounts. They start by attempting to log in to the account. They enter your email address in the username field, click the “forgot password” button and change the password using the email sent to your address. At that point, they could even change the recovery email address associated with your online accounts.
How to avoid it
Avoid using your email address as your username whenever possible, Hamerstone advises. He also emphasizes the importance of setting up two-factor authentication (2FA) for your online accounts. “If users are using multifactor authentication, scammers would need a way around that as well,” he says. It can also be helpful to have strong, unique passwords for every account, so they’re much more difficult to guess or replicate.
7. Steal financial information—or even money
Your financial data is often just one step away from your email address. If hackers gain access, they can use it to infiltrate your online bank accounts, reset login credentials and even divert funds to their own accounts.
How it works
If hackers know your email address, they can phish for your password. With your password, they can target your online bank accounts, especially if you have connected them to the email address that was hacked. As with any other online account, they can reset the account information. And that means they could start having money transferred to their accounts instead of yours.
How to avoid it
Shield your finances with these essential protective measures:
- Don’t reuse passwords on multiple sites.
- Avoid using your email address as your username for financial accounts.
- Enable multifactor authentication on all financial services.
- Consider using a separate, dedicated email address exclusively for financial accounts.
- Set up real-time alerts for all financial transactions above a certain threshold.
- Regularly review account statements for unauthorized transactions, rather than relying on email notifications which could be intercepted.
8. Steal your identity
Here’s a bit of good news: “Identity theft is challenging with just an email address,” Hamerstone says. The risk increases, however, when scammers have your password as well.
How it works
If hackers gain access to your email account, they can uncover enough personal details to steal your identity. Your email inbox is a gold mine for sensitive information. Cybercriminals can search for:
- Bank statements
- Employment records
- Credit card details
- Government-issued IDs (such as your Social Security number)
With these details, they can apply for credit cards or loans—or even commit tax fraud in your name.
How to avoid it
Sign up for a dark-web-monitoring service, such as Identity Guard. Many of these are free and will alert you if your information has been included in a data breach or is being sold online. Also, keep an eye on your bank and credit card statements for any transactions you didn’t make. If you see something, take action immediately.
9. Discover when you’ll be out of town
Many of us know not to post information about upcoming travels on social media, but a hacker could use your email address to get this info too.
How it works
If cybercriminals steal your email password, they can access flight confirmations, hotel bookings or Airbnb reservations. With this information, they know exactly when you’ll be away—making your home a potential target for burglary.
How to avoid it
To secure your travel information, strategic approaches are essential. Use a separate email account exclusively for travel-related correspondence to isolate potential breaches. Minimize password risks by using strong, unique passwords for each site and enabling multifactor authentication for all accounts. Delete travel confirmations after securely saving the information elsewhere, and consider a virtual private mailbox service that doesn’t identify your physical residence. For instance, iPostal1 and Anytime Mailbox provide a secure mailing address without revealing your physical location.
FAQs
How can hackers get your email address?
Data breaches, like the one I experienced, are one way bad actors get your email address: Cybercriminals steal databases containing personal information. But sometimes they find them fair and square. Many people publicly display their email addresses on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, making them easy to find.
“Email addresses are often more or less public,” says Hamerstone. “Some people have used the same email for decades, signing up for countless services that may have sold their information in marketing lists. These lists often end up in the wrong hands.”
Your email may also be linked to:
- Banking transactions
- Health care accounts
- Online shopping
- Social media
- Political donations
The more places you share your email, the higher the risk of exposure.
Is it safe to give out your email address?
Yes. It would be impossible to keep your email address completely secret, given how many things we do today that require us to share our email addresses.
That being said, you should be selective about where and to whom you give your email address. Freely sharing your email can cause it to fall into the wrong hands, and you might end up being flooded with annoying marketing emails—or becoming a victim of a hacker.
What can hackers learn from just an email address?
Even without a password, hackers can gather surprising amounts of personal information, including:
- Your full name and location
- Workplace and job title
- Social media usernames
- School or university
- Connections to friends and relatives
Even if hackers can’t access your accounts immediately, they can use your email to find clues about your identity—and eventually your passwords.
How can you stay safe from hackers?
Your email is the key to your digital identity—protecting it should be a priority. Hamerstone recommends limiting how often you give out your primary email address.
Instead, set up multiple free email accounts for different purposes:
- One for personal communication (friends and family)
- One for online shopping and newsletters
- One for banking and sensitive accounts
Additional security steps:
- Use a strong, unique password for your email account—and update it every few months.
- Enable two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security.
- Avoid reusing passwords across multiple sites. Use a password manager to keep track of them.
- Consider using features like Hide My Email, which Apple offers to iCloud+ subscribers. It masks your true email with a unique, randomly generated address when you fill out forms or create accounts online.Â
How can you tell if a scammer has your email address?
If a scammer has your email address, you might notice any of the following:
- A sudden surge of phishing emails
- A request for a 2FA code when you weren’t logging in to a website
- An inability to log in to a website because a hacker put in the wrong credentials too many times
- A security alert
- Emails sent to your contacts when you didn’t send them
You can also go to HaveIBeenPwned.com and enter your email address to see if it’s been compromised.
What should you do if you think you’ve been hacked?
If you believe you’ve been hacked, you’ll need to take action immediately to minimize the damage. Here’s what to do if a scammer has your email address:
- Try to log in to your email. If you can’t (because the hacker has changed the password), tell your contacts that you’ve been hacked so they know to mark that email address as spam and ignore anything coming from it. Then, create a new email account and share it with friends and family.
- If you can, log in to your email and change your password. Be sure to use a password you’ve never used before.
- Go to your account settings and sign out of all devices. This will boot out any hackers who may be logged in.
- Run antivirus and/or antimalware software to identify and remove any malicious programs the hacker may have installed. Make sure your operating system and browser are updated to the latest version (which will contain all the latest security patches).
- Freeze your credit through all three major credit bureaus to prevent identity theft. Also, monitor your bank statements and online transactions for any unauthorized activity.
- Get serious about security: Update all your passwords and security questions for your online accounts and activate 2FA whenever possible.
Additional reporting by Brooke Nelson Alexander.
About the experts
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Why trust us
Reader’s Digest has published hundreds of articles on personal technology, arming readers with the knowledge to protect themselves against cybersecurity threats and internet scams as well as revealing the best tips, tricks and shortcuts for computers, cellphones, apps, texting, social media and more. For this piece, Laurie Budgar tapped her experience as a longtime reporter who’s written about technology. Then Chuck Brooks, a globally recognized expert on cybersecurity and emerging technologies, Georgetown University professor and thought leader who has briefed the G20 on cybersecurity and received two presidential appointments, gave it a rigorous review to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We rely on credentialed experts with personal experience and know-how as well as primary sources including tech companies, professional organizations and academic institutions. We verify all facts and data and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Alex Hamerstone, director of advisory solutions at TrustedSec; interview May 2022 and May 2024
- Greg Kelley, chief technology officer of Vestige Digital Investigations; interview May 2022 and May 2024
- Apple: “Create unique, random email addresses with Hide My Email and iCloud+”
- Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence: “Phishing Scams in 2024: New Techniques and How to Avoid Them”
