Someone keeps trying or has been using my email address to sign up for all kinds of accounts. What can I do?

but Apple has assured me that my 2-factor authentication is the best defense.

but I know that all it means is that enough failed attempts will lead to my account being locked. I then have to go back in and use my recovery key to unlock everything.

To be clear... if you have 2 Factor Authentication enabled, there is no recovery key. A recovery key is used with 2 Step Verification, which is an older style of security for your Apple ID.

And I don't believe there is a lockout for "too many verification codes" sent by 2FA like there is for "too many bad password" attempts.

In the url bar type how to delete email id for the third party services you are using , lot of links are there , you can follow them or you can call on their Toll free no & describe your issue , they will send you a link , type your email id & password your email id will be deactivated in moments , but will be removed from the server after 90 days , in between don't be tempted to sign in or if you don't want to delete the id change the passwords .

Read this article : macOS Sierra: Tips for creating secure passwords

I have this issue, too. It is annoying, but Apple has assured me that my 2-factor authentication is the best defense. I get regular popups on my iphone's lock screen providing a code to log into iCloud. Of course, the person trying to get into my account is not seeing these but they are triggering them by incorrectly using my email address as their own. I even get followups from Apple asking me to rate the customer support experience after "I" contacted AppleCare.

At first this was extremely disconcerting, as if I was watching someone hack into my iCloud account in real time. Now when it happens it is still irritating, but I know that all it means is that enough failed attempts will lead to my account being locked. I then have to go back in and use my recovery key to unlock everything.

It boils down to human error in my case. Someone thinks that my email address is theirs. How this can happen in this day and age is mind-boggling to me, but it takes all kinds of people to fill up this big old world.

I have this exact problem. There are no less than 5 "Marci"s who simply can't remember their own dang email addresses. I NEVER use the iCloud variant of my address, so if I get something directed there, I know it originated from one of them (usually it's a mailing list or an online store order confirmation). I've received bank statements, tax information, family photos, you name it -- these people are so very lucky I am an honest person. Once, I received a PayPal invoice from an angry vendor who wanted payment, and the woman who used the wrong email address (mine) threw a hissy fit saying I "should've told her immediately". I DID! It is very frustrating, to say the least. And Apple's only response is to tell me to step-up my password security, or to change my email address. I am not changing my email address.

So you are not alone.

This happens with all mail providers, not just Apple.

It's like a wrong phone number... not much Apple or any provider can do when a user somewhere enters an incorrect email that happens to belong to you.

No indeed, you are not alone either, malekia. I have the exact same problem, and have received quite a lot of personal stuff from various people across the world. I had been poised to try and work on this with Apple, but the posts above convince me there's no use - they're just going to patronise, and recommend changing passwords etc.

But I do sympathise with you, because it's very hard to go to such lengths to try and resolve someone else's problem, only to be criticised for it.

OMG, there is someone else who is experiencing this? I swear, I have used up all patience and trying to be kind when dealing with this.

I created my primary email account cupcake@mac.com a very long time ago. Of course, it morphed into cupcake@me.com and most recently into cupcake@icloud.com. This behavior occurs with all three variations, but most often with the "@me.com" address. In trying to understand the timeline, I figured it started occurring about the time of the iOS release 5.

I get approximately 10 account creation emails a week. Mine range from harmless to education to medical to ****. At one time I was getting as many as a hundred a week! I also send very politely worded emails to the companies explaining that someone tried to sign up with one of the variations of my emails and ask them to delete any or all accounts associated with them. Unless of course, they are ones that I want to keep.

The problem with telling companies to delete the accounts is that it is now sitting out there for someone to setup the account AGAIN. I have started simply requesting a new password or password reset, change the public facing data and leave it be. This will only work with accounts that require email validation, though. I have stumbled upon accounts while trying to create my own! Again, I simply change the public facing info and password and email. It then becomes mine. I've had a couple of accounts - a Disney site - that won't reset the password or delete the accounts because I can only validate the email address and none of the other account info! Sigh.

I have worked with Apple many times, sometimes for many hours trying to resolve this issue. Apple tends to be myopic and generally sticks with "someone just mistyped the email"... but it happens much too frequently for this to be true. I know it is a popular and coveted email address and perhaps people think they can force the company to recognize it as their own. I've also had requests for the Apple accounts to be reset.

Recently had an interesting chat on Apple's Messages with an 8 year old who swears that it is her friend's iChat account. She admonished me to be nicer if I was sharing it with her friend. I couldn't make her understand that her friend was incorrect in believing it was hers.

I see that you've written your message way back in February and I see no other follow ups. Have you been successful in making this stop?

This has been happening to me for years. First with me @me.com and now with my @icloud.com. Fortunately, about 7 months ago the first person who was signing up for accounts using my address purchased a new iPhone and had the receipt sent to what he thought was his apple email---it was actually mine. I was able to get his phone number off of his receipt and inform him that he has been using the wrong email address and that I was receiving multiple emails for accounts he has created. The emails stopped, until this month. I most recently received sign-ups for PlayStation and other accounts from another person (I know because their first name is different) now using my @icloud.com address. I have yet to find solutions through apple to fix the issue...I can only hope that I again receive an email with more identifying information so I can kindly contact this person and as him to please stop using my email like the last person.

Have you considered changing your password to something stronger, e.g. with letters, numbers, symbols, etc. Also, have you considered enabling two-step verification? If you account is eligible, you could enable two-factor authentication which Apple has recently implemented and started rolling out last Fall.

And a side note, have you also considered reaching out to Apple Support to get them involved in the issue?

The person isn't actually accessing my email they are using the email address to sign up for accounts through other websites. It is less of a security concern and more of an annoyance.

This is happening to me too. Someone is using my iCloud email address to attempt registering on various websites. For example, today I got an email from Dropbox in the German language...someone attempting to setup a Dropbox account in Germany using my iCloud email address. This is starting to freak me out a little. I have changed my password to something very long and complex (letters, numbers, symbols), and I also have two-step verification enabled.

Any advice would be appreciated. Do I need to do anything else, or should I just chill?

Thanks for differentiating 2FA and 2SV for me (and for the links). I will look into 2FA asap.

No problem.

Ironically, I had to unlock my account to be able to read your reply on this thread. 😁