Yahoo! email accounts - I am in shock

[Hector]

Hi all,

This is a warning for all of those with Yahoo! accounts. My account was actually a myname@yahoo.co.uk (myname@yahoo.co.uk) account but this is so devious it may start happening to all accounts.

I log in to my account regularly. It is my primary email account and I probably check it 4 or 5 times a day. I am currently loggin in every 5 seconds as I am waiting to hear back from universities about applications. I have also just moved 10000 miles from family and friends so it is my primary means of contact with them.

I logged into my Yahoo! account today, only to have message come up on the screen telling me that, as I had not logged in for 4 months, my account had been de-activated. ALL EMAIL MESSAGES, ADDRESSES, DRAFTS HAD BEEN LOST. ALL INCOMING MAIL WAS BEING RETURNED TO SENDER.

Scrolling down I was then directed to re-sign for Yahoo! email, only this time I was advised to choose a NON-free option that offered me protection from such misfortune as occurred today.

WHAT A BLOODY SCAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can only assume this is a scam, designed by Yahoo! to try and force long-time users who have not elected to upgrade to pay-as-you-go email to do so.

I have used this Yahoo! account for nearly 3 years - whilst travelling and working in a number of different countries. I am supposed to be keeping an email record of my correspondence with universities for my scholarship application - ALL GONE. I have emails from friends from 3 years ago who have lost touch - ALL GONE. I have emails between my partner and I during our travels from the UK to Oz when I was pregnant and we had to be temporarily separated - me to Oz and him to NZ - ALL GONE. He has recently returned to the UK and I have emails of details etc - ALL GONE. I have photos of my daughter - ALL GONE. I have references, emails from previous employers, Jaysus I can't even begin to explain - it's like over 3 years of my life (3 tumultous, extremely significant years - relocating countries, having a child) ALL GONE! The Yahoo! scam email states quite clearly that there is NO way Yahoo! can recover these files.

AND the reason they deleted it was because I had not logged in - which is complete and utter bullsh*t, but what can I do? I am emailing (haha!) consumer affairs and think I might email Kochie and Mel considering Channel 7 are so supportive of Yahoo!

Obviously this is a severe lesson to me - I will NEVER put such faith in web based email again - but how many others of you would be in the same boat? Firstly, hope this is a reminder for all of us to save the important files somewhere else. And secondly (although the other email companies will probably try this tactic too in the next while) DITCH YAHOO! What a pack of liars and thieves.

What a rant. And I don't even have a stiff drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please check your email accounts and save the important stuff. This is like losing all my letters/photos in a house fire or something!!

[mysonroger]

i have never heard of paying ofr yahoo email account. and i'm sure i would get some warning.
are you sure your pc hasn't been infected with a virus or something. are you sure it is legitimate yahoo??

[SilverStarfish]

I agree... that does sound a bit dodgy. I haven't had any issues like that at all with my yahoo account, and, as of yet anyway, no one else on Bubhub has - and I'm assuming lots of us use Yahoo.

But you are right about web based email. You should always save onto disk or print out any important mail as you have no control over the server on which it is stored.

:hugs: I hope they can sort something out for you. I've contacted Yahoo for help before and they've responded.

[Jax Tellers Old Lady]

This is the same as hotmail accounts if you dont log in by thirty days it gets closed.

[Jax Tellers Old Lady]

oops sorry i just read that you log in each day:confused:

[razzle]

Sounds like a virus to me. Are you sure that the url in your address bar was the proper yahoo address? Have you downloaded any weird emails lately?

Email yahoo and ask them what's going on.

[Hector]

Up until yesterday I would've been writing the same responses!!!! It's not a virus or phishing or scam or anything like that - it is something that Yahoo are doing in order to free up more names and space so they can revamp what they offer and compete with the larger GB size email offered by their competitors - this is what I have gleaned from Yahoo search.

Received an interim response from Yahoo telling me that this is a widespread problem that has just started hitting yahoo email accounts and they are looking into it, thanks for letting us know etc....

So that in itself will hopefully be enough for you guys to check you've not got anything in your Inbox that you would be devastated to lose!

BUT: in google search of this problem I discovered hundreds of others (there are probably more) who have suffered exactly the same thing: log in to their account daily, use it for sensitive documents/contacts and suddenly got an email from Yahoo that deleted their account. EVERY single one of them contacted Yahoo and received no response. At least I have a response, but it's already a lie - they told me it was a recent development, yet the google examples I found were from 2004!!!!!!

I know I probably sound like a raving loony but if you do use Yahoo for important stuff and can imagine losing it - it's like a fire going through your house. Horrible, horrible. Please just save your stuff - suppose it's really just been a lesson to me - not to put so much faith in an online email account!!!

[SilverStarfish]

I guess we still can't complain too much. After all, Yahoo, hotmail, gmail, etc etc are all "free". It's not like you're paying for it, as you are with you ISP email accounts.

[Seekrit]

could you email yahoo from another free account, informing them of what happened. Surely it's just a glitch in the system that can easily be worked out.

[kiwibird27]

You need to use g-mail, It's fantastic, It's from google

[mysonroger]

can i ask kiwibird, what is g-mail all about...how does it differ to yahoo account , or what makes it so fantastic. i would be really interested?

[kiwibird27]

You don't get the spam like u do with hotmail and the others, and it's no hassle, Its set out easily and because it's new there are less people hacking into accounts so its more secure. You have to get an invitation to join, u can't just subscribe , if u PM me you e-mail account I can send u an invite.

[kiwibird27]

sorry didn't answer your question, with hotmail and msn, you get heaps of pop ups and ads, they track whatever u do, That doesn't seem to happen with gmail

[Leeny]

I just wanted to say that from experience, I've had both my house burnt to the ground in 2003, dh's "family" hacking my account and deleting everything, and also whats happened to you, a fee type email losing everything that I had, In an account that I had since I was 12 or 13, so there was alot of stuff.

All of which still peeve me off when i think about how much stuff I lost. Yes, the only real way to avoid it, is make copies, and even give a copy to someone you trust. All my photos are getting burnt to DVD, one of dh's friends will get a copy, i'll pick someone to get a copy, when we move out i'll give mum a copy, and I'll keep a copy or 2. Perhaps a bit overboard, but hey, if its important, Its worth it.

[Mrs Potts]

I understand your frustration, but in the end this is a FREE service. I'm sure if you read their Terms & Conditions it will say something along the lines of "all care, but no responsibility taken". In other words, if something goes wrong - tough.

IMO, if stuff is really so desperately important to you, you shouldn't entrust it to a free, off-shore, web-based email service over which you have no control.