A number of posts on here have asked if a hacked email account can be deleted.
While it might seem sensible to do this here's some reasons why you shouldn't IMHO
A hacked email account is often the first line of attack in breaching other accounts.
Indeed the first some people find out about these hacks is when someone changes a password on another more significant account e.g. Amazon.
Deleting the account means you possibly lose some insights on to what other accounts have been attacked, and often means that you will have trouble getting back into those accounts as well as the companies can no longer send a password reset.
Some email providers allow the recycling of deleted email addresses.
While I don't think this applies to Virgin Media, I would always assume it does to be on the safe side. As long as the email address is active you should be able to take steps to regain control of it.
(Edit: Blueyonder, NTLWorld and Virgin.net addresses can't be recycled as it's not possible to create email addresses using those domains any longer. However I still advise against deleting it unnecessarily).
So what should you do?
- Deny the hacker continued access to the email address - change your password and/or your security questions.
- Access webmail and check for any unexplained filter rules that the hacker may have put in to hide their activity, e.g. redirecting or deleting emails from certain companies.
- If you're one of the 59% of users who use the same password everywhere then it's time to change. Every account that uses the same password as your email account is to be considered breached regardless of whether they have been. Consider using a password manager such as LastPass or Dashlane and setting random passwords on every account.
- Where accounts support it turn on two factor authentication (2FA). I cannot stress this enough. While it can add extra hassle to logging in, it does provide an extra layer of security often tied directly to a specific device.
Note that in recent months there have been a spate of emails blackmailing users by providing evidence that they know your password.
In the words of the late great Douglas Adams:

Evidence shows that many of these passwords have come from old hacks (indeed some of those contacted reported that they had changed the password years ago).
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/alert-cyber-criminals-send-victims-their-own-passwords-in-ne...
So it doesn't mean your email itself was the initial point of hack. There have certainly been a large number of well known companies hacked over the years.
Finally though I would take this moment to urge that all users of Blueyonder.co.uk, NTLWorld.com and Virgin.net emails take time to make sure that they are using the LATEST SETTINGS for your email clients. There are IMHO still far to many people using settings that were in place since before 2010. These settings are unsafe as they transmit your email address and password in PLAIN TEXT
If it works and you're a believer in "If it aint broke, dont fix it." You should realise that the original design of email wasn't perfect. There are reasons behind this, but if you haven't changed your email settings since you first got it you should consider your email broken.
Note: Virginmedia.com email holders already use the latest settings so those accounts have always been more secure by default as email address and password are encrypted.
I do welcome other people's thoughts on this subject.
Tim
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