An
email forwarding rule sends incoming messages to another address automatically. It can be a legitimate convenience or a way for an intruder to keep receiving your mail. Related filters can hide, delete or mark specific messages as read.
A useful example
An attacker briefly accesses an inbox and forwards every bank email to another address. You change the password and sign out the attacker, but the rule keeps working. They may still see future alerts or password-reset messages.
What to check
Inspect forwarding settings and filters or inbox rules inside the provider's own web interface. Remove unknown rules, then send a harmless test message to confirm delivery. A removed rule cannot recall mail already copied. Gmail's
forwarding documentation explains its settings. Our
Gmail and Outlook checklist gives the steps.
Practical distinction
A forwarding rule may affect all mail, while a filter can target only selected senders. Inspect both so a bank-only rule does not escape a broad forwarding check.
