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Level 1

19 points

Update apple ID. Someone is using my email address as their ID

I just updated to IOS 5 on my iPad 2 and the first thing it does is go through the setup process again. I put in my apple ID like normal, but now it says that I have to update my apple ID to an email address. No problem, I put in my email address and it tells me that someone is using my address as their ID already. I only have one email address and I have never created an apple id using it. as a matter of fact, that email address is the one tied to my original apple id. Is there anything I can do about this?

iPad 2, ios 5

Posted on Oct 12, 2011 5:28 PM

Best reply

W1ld Ch1ld

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Jan 25, 2017 12:40 PM

I wanted to share that I encountered this issue too when trying to change the e-mail address of my Apple ID to another e-mail address. Even though I was using this address as an alternate contact address in FaceTime and iMessage, the system told me that it was used by another account. I found the activation e-mails from 3 years ago that I ignored at the time.

Obviously I wasn't able to access the account as I did not have the answers to the security questions. I was able to change the password and gather some information about it though.

In the end, I spoke with a very nice AppleCare senior advisor who wasn't able to gain access to the rogue account, but escalated the matter to engineering. In the end, they sent me a "Email Ownership Verification Code" to the e-mail address I wanted to use with a PIN. Gave the PIN to the senior advisor who sent it back to engineering. On the next day, my e-mail address was removed from the rogue account and became available again for me to use with my Apple ID.

Oubviously, the Apple system has some flaws:

- It likely shouldn't ask for security questions before you click on the e-mail validation link. That way, an e-mail address wouldn't be locked to a rogue account like that.

- It also shouldn't let you create an Apple ID with an e-mail address that is already in use with FaceTime and iMessage.

I hope this answer can help other people in the future.

Cheers!

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56 replies

Feb 25, 2015 7:55 AM in response to Dah•veed

I am also facing the same problem.

Somebody used my email to create apple id but didn't verify it.

Now I am not able to create apple id.

As email is mine so I decided to use that id by the using the option "forget password"

and successfully logged in but the rescue email is not mine and i am not able to change it as i don't know the security question.

Apr 3, 2015 6:07 AM in response to sandeepkala

This is what the military would call a Charlie Foxtrot.

Glaring security issue, going unfixed for half a decade.

Is there any way to actually delete an apple ID? (I suspect not. And they say apple cares about your privacy...)

[Dah•vee] it's funny that years later you still claim that someone else is actually "at fault" for a big security & privacy issue on Apple's products. Who caress how gmail works? Apple should fix their products so that they don't need to make any assumptions about how the email providers work, beyond the fact that they will deliver the email to the address owner.

Oct 19, 2015 11:36 AM in response to AlphaJoe

This is absolutely flabbergasting. Lately I've gotten e-mails to verify my Apple ID, one I never signed up for. I din't pay much attention to those, thinking that someone used my e-mail account and would figure it out.

Today I received my first apple product, and wanted to have an apple id. I try to do "forgot password" to take control over the apple id attached to email address, but it seems like this other guy (or gal) have added a new email address to the apple id so that my address (still attached to the existing apple id) does not receive the forgot password emails!

I called support, got elevated one level in the support, but there is nothing I can do! A person can register and use an apple id, even attach a visa card to it, without the email being validated! Its absolutely horrible. And they couldn't do anything without me knowing the answers to the stupid questions, which I didnt set in the first place!

I dont know what do to. It seems like I'm ******. I just have to accept that my email address is attached to another persons apple id, and there is nothing I can do about it.

Dinpuru

Level 1

0 points

Dec 26, 2015 9:05 AM in response to ColonelKermit

Colonel Kermit and I have have the same problem; some idiot is using my email address as login and i cant register it with apple. Trying to reset password sends it to this idiot's yandex account; I just dont get it; I have access to my email address why cant i take the apple id back? let them choose a new one.

Feb 26, 2016 2:46 AM in response to AlphaJoe

I have the same problem.

I can not erase the apple id.

I contacted the guy who wrote my email address by phone and he says the address is not mine, it's he's.

Trying to get support from Apple only gets me in the apple id setup page.

I don't know what else to do?

Maybe sue Apple?

tychalk

Level 1

8 points

Jul 6, 2016 10:38 PM in response to Adam Albright

not useful

Fedsalta

Level 1

4 points

Jul 14, 2016 9:08 AM in response to johnfrom211 chad b baker st

I see that all the above posts are aged...but I have the same problem and now it is 2016.

I dont have any Apple device, I dont use any Apple app ...nothing !

I can not change contact infos into the site because ofcourse I dont know the security questions .

I can only change the password trough the password recovery and after few ours someone else change it again.

My gmail account is not compromised ( I have checked any possible solution)

The support is not answering me anymore.

At this step...glad to dont have enough money to afford an Iphone :-(

Jul 14, 2016 10:54 AM in response to Fedsalta

Since you don't have any Apple device or app, why are you concerned about an Apple ID using your email address?

Sep 30, 2016 9:45 PM in response to Diana.McCall

Same problem recently. a girl named Alejandra G**** is using my e-mail address as apple id for her phone. what is very strange is how she manage to use it because i got 11 emails in my inbox from apple asking me to confirm the apple id creation (which i didn't) then i got emails from apple telling me that on this apple id some data has been updated and this apple id has been use to connect to iCloud, to FaceTime etc. how is possible to use it as long as the apple id was not confirmed using the link provided by apple in my inbox. i went to apple site and reset that apple id password and it worked because the e-mail for resetting the password was coming into my inbox and i manage to follow the reset steps however i was not able to access the account because i cloudn't be able to reset the security questions.

few hours later a received again many e-mails from apple informing me that (one) the password has been reset and (9) telling me to confirm the this is my new apple ID. again i diddn't confirm it.

I'm still wondering how somebody else can use and apple id (which is in fact a valid e-mail address) without confirming the arrived e-mail from apple for confirmation? and more strange why to create an apple id with an e-mail that does not belong to you??? any criminal scheme?

Mar 6, 2017 3:31 PM in response to AlphaJoe

Someone used my email address

Apr 8, 2017 7:01 PM in response to Dah•veed

Apparently you can't delete comments, only update them, so that is what you are reading now.

Update apple ID. Someone is using my email address as their ID