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How long will I get email from an inactive account?

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Though inactive Hotmail accounts are open for a some time before they're closed, spammers can make it appear as though an account is still active.

by , © 2005

I've been getting email from the Hotmail account of someone who is reportedly deceased. How long is a Hotmail account inactive before they recycle it and make it available to someone else to use?

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That does sound a little unnerving, to be sure. I know I'd be a little 'weirded out' if I got email from someone whom I knew has passed away.

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I don't have an exact number, but I believe Hotmail accounts hang around for several months. I'd guess around six.

But it's more likely that the email is the result of "From address spoofing", a common technique that spammers and some viruses use which doesn't require that the account be active at all. My article "Someone's sending from my email address! How do I stop them?!" discusses how that can happen.

Article C2273 - February 1, 2005

Leo Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed. After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.

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Recent Comments
15 Comments

i need my account back it is very important to me

Posted by: mack at October 31, 2008 1:27 AM

im trying to re-open my account and read my mail but still cant and i really need help on this its very important to me...it keeps telling me to fill out the fourm but i see no fourm to do so...PLZ HELP!!!

Posted by: lila at November 13, 2008 10:47 AM

my account is inactive so how can i active my hotmail messages account

Posted by: julia nguyen at April 9, 2009 7:42 AM

Dear Gentlemen, please help me as soon as the opening of the my email, since my account was closed, I do not know why, please help me, where I need is

Posted by: sydney australian at April 25, 2009 3:59 PM

how do i transfer my prior account on to the new window's live account?

Posted by: linda at March 16, 2010 11:43 AM
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