Step-by-Step Guide: How do I stop someone from using my email address

If someone is using your email address without permission, the right response depends on how they are using it. In most cases, the issue falls into one of three categories: email spoofing, unauthorized access to your account, or someone using your address to sign up for accounts and services.

1. Email Spoofing

Email spoofing happens when someone sends messages that appear to come from your email address, even though they do not actually have access to your account.

This is possible because the sender information in an email can sometimes be manipulated. Spoofing is commonly used for phishing, scams, and spam.

How to Prevent Email Spoofing

If you use an email address connected to your own domain, such as name@yourcompany.com, make sure your domain has the following email security records configured:

• SPF identifies which servers are allowed to send email for your domain.

• DKIM adds a digital signature that helps verify legitimate messages.

• DMARC tells receiving email providers what to do when a message fails authentication checks.

These protections make it much harder for attackers to successfully impersonate your domain.

If you use Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or another major email provider, these protections are generally managed by the provider.

2. Someone Has Access to Your Email Account

A more serious situation occurs when someone actually gains access to your inbox.

An attacker who controls your email account may be able to read messages, send emails as you, reset passwords for other accounts, or access sensitive information.

How to Secure Your Account

If you suspect someone has accessed your email:

• Change your password immediately.

• Use a strong, unique password you do not use elsewhere.

• Enable two-factor authentication.

• Sign out of other devices and active sessions.

• Review your account recovery email and phone number.

• Check for unfamiliar forwarding rules or filters.

• Remove unknown connected apps or devices.

You should also change passwords for other important accounts if they use the same password or can be reset through your email address.

3. Someone Is Using Your Email Address for Signups

Sometimes someone may enter your email address when creating an account, subscribing to a service, or filling out a form without actually having access to your inbox.

Unfortunately, there is usually no way to completely prevent someone from typing your email address into a website.

However, most legitimate services require the user to verify the email address before the account becomes fully active.

What You Can Do

If you receive signup emails for accounts you did not create:

• Do not click suspicious links.

• Use the service's official website to report the account if necessary.

• Ignore verification emails for accounts you did not create.

• Mark persistent unwanted messages as spam.

• Make sure your email account itself remains secure.

A few accidental signups are usually harmless. A sudden flood of account registrations, password reset messages, or security alerts may deserve closer attention because attackers sometimes use large volumes of email to hide a legitimate security notification.

The Bottom Line

You cannot always stop someone from entering or displaying your email address, but you can prevent them from actually controlling it.

If someone has accessed your inbox, secure the account immediately. If they are spoofing a business email address, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC can reduce impersonation. If they are simply using your address for signups, there may be little you can prevent directly, but they generally cannot verify or control those accounts without access to your inbox.

For businesses, an IT service provider can also help review email security settings, configure authentication records, monitor for suspicious activity, and strengthen account protections across the organization.