Forum Discussion

Statler's avatar
Statler
Tuning in
9 months ago
Solved

NTLworld email account hacked and unable to change password

My ntlworld email account has been hacked and I am unable to log in to it on laptop or phone so unable to reset the password.

Emails are going out to contacts not sent by me but how do I fix it if I can't change the password and how compromising is this for items such as my bank accounts and just about anything?

Can anybody help or point me in the right direction to get this fixed urgently?

 

  • In order to access the email account in an email client such as Outlook or Gmail app you need to generate an app password, which you can do via the My Virgin Media account for the email address concerned.

    You use the third party email username to sign into the My VM account.

    In the email clients you continue to use the full Ntlworld email address as the username together with the generated app password.

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

  • Hi there Statler 

    Thank you so much for your post and welcome to the community forums it's great to have you back here. 

    We are so sorry that you have faced this issue with your email and thank you again for posting. Can I ask if this is an email attached to a current and active account with us? 

  • This is my Virgin Media account that was set up using my ntlworld email and is the only email I have used under that account for years. I have had a number of conversations with VM support who have tried to reset and recover my account with no success. I have just given them an alternative gmail address of mine and they have just managed to reset the password so I can now actually see my inbox but no emails since last Tuesday. They are supposedly working towards fixing the issue but I want to be able to contiune using my ntlworld email address and being able to access via my desktop and mobile, neither of which are working at present.

    • Statler's avatar
      Statler
      Tuning in

      To clarify - I can only access my VM account/ntl emails by logging in online using my gmail address. The account had auto forwarding set up to an email address using my name but not created by me so it seems all my emails received in the last week have gone to that address. I have switched that auto forward option off now. 

      I still cannot get Outlook to work on my desktop and unable to see my emails on my phone.

      • Martin_N's avatar
        Martin_N
        Forum Team

        Thank you for that information. To confirm, have you tried using the password reset via the online account?

        ^Martin

  • VM have updated my account so I can access it online using my gmail address which I can access online only.

    I can see my emails coming in under my ntl email and I can send and reply to emails.

    My remaining problem is how do I get my laptop/desktop working using Outlook and similarly how do I get my phone to pick up my emails.

    Do I have to uninstall Outlook and Gmail then effectively start again by using my gmail address when configuring after re-installing?

    I have two open tickets raised by VM via WhatsApp chats but they are going nowhere fast. Can anybody help me sort out my laptop and phone?

    • Graham_A's avatar
      Graham_A
      Very Insightful Person

      In order to access the email account in an email client such as Outlook or Gmail app you need to generate an app password, which you can do via the My Virgin Media account for the email address concerned.

      You use the third party email username to sign into the My VM account.

      In the email clients you continue to use the full Ntlworld email address as the username together with the generated app password.

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

  • From my Outlook inbox I can go to File - Account Settings.

    Do I remove my ntl email address then create a new one and add it back in?

    Will that then generate the password option that will allow me access?

     

    • Graham_A's avatar
      Graham_A
      Very Insightful Person

      In Outlook account settings for the Ntlworld email address concerned you should just be able to replace the existing password with the app password that you have already generated.

      • Statler's avatar
        Statler
        Tuning in

        That is what i was hoping but so far not managed to work out how I can do that.

        Presumably I would have to generate a new app password once I find out how to access the password in Outlook.

  • This is what I get when going into Account Settings:

    Clicking on change does not allow me to update password.

    • Graham_A's avatar
      Graham_A
      Very Insightful Person

      Not sure why the change option is not allowing you to change the password.  If you are using the IMAP settings then deleting and then re adding the account may be the best option.  Before doing that make sure you make a copy of the outlook data file before you remove the account.

      When setting it up again in Outlook you need to use the full Ntlworld email address as the username and the app password that you have already generated.

      If you didn't keep a record of the app password then you will need to go through the process again to generate a new one.  You will then need to update your other email clients with the new app password as well as using it with Outlook.

      So make sure you keep a record of the app password.

  • Finally managed to get both laptop and mobile working again.

    This time I went into server settings which is under account settings and the password was showing so generated a new one, used that and updated my phone and bingo all seems to be working again.

    Sneaky hacker had set up auto forward from last week so am missing a weeks worth of emails but turned that function off straight away. 

    I have two open Virgin tickets with no way of getting updates plus countless WhatsApp chats and no progress from them.

    Many thanks for your assistance. You are indeed a very insightful person and I really appreciate you taking the time to help.