Users With Recycled Yahoo IDs Warn of Potential Security Risks
Yahoo users in possession of a recycled ID are reporting that they’re receiving emails meant for previous owners—some that include sensitive information. According to a report from InformationWeek, the issue began after spam emails started flooding in, but people soon started to notice some of those emails contained account information, confirmation for appointments, and more. Basically, everything you wouldn’t want someone to see, they’re now seeing.
CNET surmises the old owners must be using their Yahoo ID without realizing they no longer have access to it. If that’s the case, the onus is on previous owners, but highlights that maybe recycling older IDs wasn’t such a good idea in the first place. Yahoo hasn’t yet come up with a solution, but did tell InformationWeek it takes users privacy very seriously, and only a “very small number” of users has been affected. The only immediate solution is for other companies to verify accounts by adding a date-specific marker.
