Why you shouldn't delete your old e-mail addresses

If you delete an email account and the old address is assigned to someone else, all manner of shady activities could result.

If you haven't got around to deleting that Hotmail or Yahoo address that you haven't used in eight years, don't worry – experts say it's actually a better idea to keep it.

Even if you no longer use an old e-mail address, it's best not to delete the account for security reasons, according to researchers at Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics (FKIE).