Forum Discussion

the_wid's avatar
the_wid
Tuning in
2 months ago

I’m out of here…

I’ve had my account since it was set up by Cable and Wireless, migrated to Ntlworld and finally to Virgin Media, the service from VM was initially ok but I’ve witnessed a slow erosion over the years much like all of Virgins business interests.

The final straw was in the last few weeks my wife’s mail account was compromised and at server level the hacker who had been demanding money, which we ignored as phishing emails changed the name of her email and password.

The concerning thing for me and any VM email account holders reading this, is that it is not possible for me as the account holder to make these changes myself, on the VM website I only have the ability to delete the account, anything to do with details of the mail address and password have to be handled by support. So how did the hacker manage it, I can only assume the server itself is compromised or this was an inside job!

I requested help on this but after over a week I’ve yet to receive a reply, and so I’m moving over to BT Fibre Optic in the next couple of weeks for an equivalent speed service but half the price I’m paying VM.

I’d be interested to know if anyone else has had similar experiences?

email, hacked
  • goslow's avatar
    goslow
    Alessandro Volta
    2 months ago

    You'll find no end of similar topics on here where VM email addresses have been taken over by scammers.

    In the past, the account holder used to be able to administer secondary email addresses and change passwords. VM has now changed this so that each VM mailbox now has its own 'My Virgin Media' login and the mailbox has to be administered from there (inc. password resets).

    VM has also been requiring customers to provide a third party email address to run alongside their VM email address and also use a separate app password with email clients. Further info below

    https://www.virginmedia.com/dpb/help/change-my-virgin-media-email-address

    https://www.virginmedia.com/help/broadband/manage-email-account

    https://www.virginmedia.com/help/security/why-is-my-virgin-media-email-hacked

    In regard to how the email address was taken over, one of the most common ways is via some kind of data leak. If the mailbox owner has reused the same email/password combo on multiple services/sites, we have seen topics on here where one service is accessed, as a result of a data leak, and the scammers then begin taking over other accounts and services using the same email/password combo.

    You can check if an email address has appeared on any data breach lists here

    https://haveibeenpwned.com/

    and there is also a feature to check if any passwords appear on leaked data lists.

    If you leave VM, your email addresses should be deleted after 90 days of leaving but VM continues to be unreliable in doing this so you may need to chase up on here if that does not happen after 90 days.

  • the_wid's avatar
    the_wid
    Tuning in
    2 months ago

    Thanks for that comprehensive answer, it was very helpful and just reassures me that I’ve done the right thing leaving VM, they appear to be distancing themselves from email support and forcing you to go elsewhere.

  • carl_pearce's avatar
    carl_pearce
    Superstar
    2 months ago

    Once you are on the Openreach network you'll breath a sigh of relief no longer being tied to VM and their network held together with string and sticky tape.

    You'll also have a 'choice', that's right a 'choice', on your ISP when your next contract runs out!

      • carl_pearce's avatar
        carl_pearce
        Superstar
        2 months ago

        Not yet, however, my contract ends in March and Openreach is now in my area...

        Too many issues in the last 6 - 12 months for me to consider staying.

        Thinking IDNet.