How to Find and Delete Your Old Yahoo! Email Account

If you've been using the Internet for a while, and in this day – who hasn't, chances are that you probably have more than one email account set up in your name. Accounts are made as and when they are needed, and it is far from unusual for a user to have a bunch of them lying dormant, rarely if ever seeing any use at all.

While for the most part, users don't even think about that, it can turn into a serious issue. Why? Because even if the users themselves can easily forget that they made a throwaway account just to qualify for registration or something, that account is still there. While the user may have discarded the account as worthless a long time ago, as long as the said account exists, it contains valuable information about the user – like any personal information that it may hold, as well as the contacts in it.

Unfortunately, that's information that cyber-criminals can capitalize on to their own nefarious ends. If by whatever means, they gain access to an account that you've left unattended they can use said account to send all kinds of spam, phishing and even downright fraudulent emails to unsuspecting people, victimizing them while making it appear that you are to blame. And since you are not keeping an eye on said account, chances you won't even know what's happening until some serious damage gets done and real-life consequences of what's been done reach you through other channels.

This is why cyber-security experts recommend that you delete all old and defunct email accounts, and only keep the ones that you actively use. The logic behind doing so is self-evident - if that account you're not using is deleted, there's no way crooks can gain anything from it. With this in mind, here's how you delete an old, defunct Yahoo! account.

NOTE: Before you delete unused accounts, make sure that there are no services or data files that you'll lose access to as a result of that. For instance, if you terminate your Yahoo! account, you'll also lose your Flickr photos, so if there's anything you value on that service, make sure you download it and/or move it to another platform.

How to Delete Your Defunct Yahoo! Account

1. Go to Yahoo!'s "delete user" page and enter your username.
2. Input your password.
3. Carefully read and consider the information on the page titled "Before continuing, please consider the following information."
4. Input your email address once more into the appropriate field.
5. Select "Yes, terminate this account".

NOTE: If for some reason you find the need to restore the account deleted in this manner, you can do so within 30 days (and up to 180 days in some countries).

How to Regain Access to an old Yahoo! Account to Delete it

1. Go to the Yahoo! Mail ID Help Center. You may do so by typing "edit.Yahoo!.com/forgotroot" into your browser.
2. Choose "I Forgot My Yahoo! ID."
3. Select "Next".
4. Input your alternate e-mail address.
5. Input your date of birth, ZIP code and/or country of residence.
6. Click Next.
7. The system should provide you with your old Yahoo! ID.
8. Go back to the main Yahoo! website – you can now sign in using your Yahoo! ID and password.