Hi, see attached screenshot. Is this legitimate or a scam? How can I find out?
thanks,
Hi RobBx
That's a genuine VM email.
VM have identified a set of ex-customers who still have an active Virgin Media email account. These should have been closed around 90 days after the broadband account was cancelled.
The notifications have just started to go out and VM will fully close the email account 30 days after the initial communication.
Mentioned a couple of times elsewhere on here today. Looks legitimate enough but what is the sender's email address?
If you hover over the hyperlink at the end (don't click on it) for 'please head here' does your browser show the URL where this link would take you (usually displayed in the bottom LHS corner of the screen when hovering over the link).
Are you currently a VM broadband customer?
VM is actively deleting legacy email accounts which are not linked to an active broadband subscription but, up to this point, has been doing this without notifying customers.
Edit: Crossed with info from newapollo. It is long overdue IMO for VM to start doing this rather than just deleting legacy email addresses without notice, as has happened in the past.
Hi, thanks for taking the trouble to reply. Originating email address is “email@em.virginmedia.com”. Links appear to take you back to virgin media site. So, like you I’m inclined to agree that it’s legitimate. Major task for me to stop using this email address after over 25 years. Aargh!
If it is any consolation (probably not!) VM's previous approach was just to delete the mailbox with no warning. The customer then had to beg VM for temporary access to try to recover info (with random outcomes for the customer as to whether this was granted or not).
You might find this past forum topic useful if you need to archive the mailbox.
Hi RobBx
That's a genuine VM email.
VM have identified a set of ex-customers who still have an active Virgin Media email account. These should have been closed around 90 days after the broadband account was cancelled.
The notifications have just started to go out and VM will fully close the email account 30 days after the initial communication.
Hi, thanks for taking the trouble to reply. As I noted in response to go slow, it looks legit. It’s been a long time since I was a virgin cable Tv customer. In fact the email address goes way back to the days when you picked up a free CD in a shop that configured your browser and email “automatically”. It’ll be a pain in the @rse to reverse out of this email.
It's never a good idea to tie yourself to an ISP's email account. I use Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook and I find Gmail to be the best.
this is from Virgin but this, at least in my case, has nothing to do with me being an ex customer. I finally managed to speak to a human being this morning and she informed me the address in question is associated to an account in my name which has been closed. Firstly, I have never had a separate account from my husband’s and if I sign in to that account there are no bills so it is clearly not a separate account. I made it very clear that this was a huge error on virgin media’s part, I never created that account and all my email addresses have always been associated to the only account we’ve ever had, in my husbands name with my name MISSPELLED as the sub owner. What a mess and why do ppl think computers are never wrong?! This woman then said she was issuing a ticket to get that email associated with my husband’s account so they won’t delete it. It always has been associated with the only account we’ve ever had but hey. Let’s just hope they do it in time!
Well something must have prompted a rethink in the VM command bunker because they have been deleting legacy mailboxes at a rate of knots, and without warning, for a very long time now up to this point.
I would take this very seriously and action it as fast as you can.
VM deleted my virgin.net email of 25+yrs without any notice a few weeks back. It has been disastrous for me and they refused to temporarily allow access again for me to sort out a load of things. Though i would suggest to VM to remove the link from the warning emails, as i these days of scam and phishing emails its enough for any savvy internet user to question if it is a genuine email. Really they need to make a clear public statement that this is happening and make it easy to find on their website without having to follow any email link.
Starting your own topic in the 'Email' forum would be the best thing to start with.
I had the same email today and called them I am still a virginmedia customer and was told that virginmedia are closing down there email services for all blueyonder and virgin.net email address, I think it ridiculous i have been with them nearly 20 years and it was the hassle of changing address that's kept me with them.
Peteyboy1964 wrote:I had the same email today and called them I am still a virginmedia customer and was told that virginmedia are closing down there email services for all blueyonder and virgin.net email address, I think it ridiculous i have been with them nearly 20 years and it was the hassle of changing address that's kept me with them.
You would do best to start your own topic in the 'Email' forum rather than mixing your issue in with this ever-growing topic in 'Security Matters'.
I had same email. We are still virginmedia customers. Why are they getting rid of my virgin.net account? Are we not paying enough?????
MarySton It is probably best to start your own threads.
Email addresses are linked to specific broadband accounts, and it is possible in certain circumstances for an email address to come adrift from a user's currently active account. Case in point was when I moved areas from a former Telewest Midlands controlled area to a former Birmingham Cable controlled area (Both had become Virgin Media by this time) - I had to reach out and request that my then Blueyonder emails were moved across to my new account.
Any emails that are not linked to active accounts are regarded as being orphan accounts. Where the account holders of the orphan accounts and the current accounts are the same, it may be possible for VM to do a move and transfer, however this would come at the cost of any email addresses linked to your current broadband account.
You can see which email addresses are linked to your current broadband account by visiting my.virginmedia.com
Tim
Looks like legit.
That’s the one, have you found out in any way whether this is genuine?
Update on this, I managed to actually speak to a human being! I explained the situation and she told me that my account (apparently separate to my husband’s account) has been cancelled so the virgin.net address will go. I insisted I have never had a separate account and that they have done something wrong! She also said my address was not associated
Oh and it shd be reworded. For one thing, how can they classify an address I access every day as inactive? Madness!
smf4122 wrote:Oh and it shd be reworded. For one thing, how can they classify an address I access every day as inactive? Madness!
Nope the wording is correct - read it again.
It says "As you no longer have Virgin Media services, your address will become inactive."
Let's break this down so you understand
You cannot have virgin.net and ntlworld.com email addresses as part of the same broadband account.
Why do I say this?
Because virgin.net addresses were given to customers who set up an internet account using dial up or ADSL customers (With broadband being delivered over normal phone lines).
ntlworld.com addresses were provided to Broadband customers who set up cable broadband accounts.
I never signed up to virgin.net myself although I do remember the CD's being available in the Virgin Megastore in Birmingham at the time (reminds me how old I am 😞 ).
Virgin Media closed the dial up around 2015, any emails linked to that should have died around 6 months after dial up closed
In addition, the ADSL service was sold off to TalkTalk around the same time. Virgin Media customers who moved to TalkTalk were given at most 12 months before Virgin Media closed down the addresses. Those who chose not to go to TalkTalk were given the usual 90-day grace period. Any ADSL customers who were in Cabled areas could in theory have moved to Cable broadband, but if this was done then the Existing email profile SHOULD have been moved to the Cable account - BUT if that had happened then there would be no ntlworld.com addresses left on the account.
Oh, and I know computers can be wrong on occasion, but not in this.
Finally, the phenomenon of Orphan accounts being closed down is not a new one, I wrote a sticky on the subject some time ago back in 2017
https://community.virginmedia.com/t5/Email/Orphan-Email-accounts/td-p/3492073
Based on what you've posted - quite frankly you're going to have to let the virgin.net email address go.
