Received an email from [email address removed] making sure it is not a scam. The email is informing me my email was found on the dark web? What do I do?

[hwrixon]

The email says its from Id notify but the email address says noreply at mail.idnotifiy.com so I wasn't completely sure. 

[Opus 17]

"IDnotify" is a legitimate company, and their service is included in some Turbotax products (if you bought Audit Defense, for example).  However, it is also possible for scammers to copy legitimate emails.

I suggest you go directly to https://portal.idnotify.com/login which is the company's official site.  Make sure there is a padlock icon in your browser window which means the connection is secure and verified by a third party verifier.  Log into your account (you would have gotten the details when you enrolled in Audit Defense) or use their login recovery procedure.  Don't provide personal information, and don't click directly on any links in the email. 

[hwrixon]

I did sign up for the protection a while ago from what I can remember, so I think it was legitimate, but I ended up deleted it. I did accidentally click on the video tutorial the email sent me on steps to do, but quickly exited out. Is there anything I should do to protect myself since I accidentally clicked the link trying to figure it out?  

[Opus 17]

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@hwrixon wrote:

I did sign up for the protection a while ago from what I can remember, so I think it was legitimate, but I ended up deleted it. I did accidentally click on the video tutorial the email sent me on steps to do, but quickly exited out. Is there anything I should do to protect myself since I accidentally clicked the link trying to figure it out?  

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If it was legit, nothing happened from watching a video or clicking a link, and you may want to log in to your account to see what it really means that your email address is on the "dark web" and what you can do about it. 

If we assume a worst case scenario that the email was from scammers who copied a legit email, then clicking a link could download a malicious file to your computer.  Do you have an antivirus program running?  You could initiate an extra scan, although a running AV program should block most malicious files from loading.  Clicking a link could also be used to confirm that your email address is active and attached to a live human being, which might make you a target for more spam. 

[hwrixon]

Ahhh I see. I didn't notice anything after clicking the video. I deleted the email so I can't re-look at it. I did do a full scan on my computer and everything looks fine. Is there anything I should do since I can't look at it again? 

[Opus 17]

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@hwrixon wrote:

Ahhh I see. I didn't notice anything after clicking the video. I deleted the email so I can't re-look at it. I did do a full scan on my computer and everything looks fine. Is there anything I should do since I can't look at it again? 

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If you want to log into your IDNotify account and see what the alert was all about, or update your password and account settings, the link is above.

[hwrixon]

Thank you!