I created an AWS account around 2018 to explore the free tier while working for a previous employer. I never knowingly deployed resources, and I stopped using the account after receiving an email in 2019 saying the free period was ending. I assumed there was nothing else I needed to do and did not explicitly close the account.
This morning I received two emails asking me to verify my payment information. The messages seemed unusual, so I tried signing in, but the account still uses an old work phone number for MFA, which I can no longer access. I was able to reset the password, but I cannot get past the MFA step. I also have account-related emails from 2023, suggesting the account may still exist.
Could these emails be routine checks on old accounts, or do they indicate that the account is active or has a billing issue? Since I do not want to use the account, do I need to take any action?
2 Answers
An account that has simply stopped being used is not necessarily closed. The fact that you can still reset the password and are receiving messages tied to the same account suggests it may remain open. If you do not want it, contact official support through the account-recovery or MFA-help process and ask them to confirm its status, check for unexpected usage or charges, and close it if appropriate. You should not need to sign in to start an MFA recovery request.
I received very similar payment-verification messages for an old, mostly unused account. My guess is that the provider is validating payment details on older accounts, but you should still treat the messages carefully and avoid using links in the email until you confirm they are genuine.
That makes sense. I was mainly worried because I had assumed the account had disappeared after the free period ended.
So I probably should not ignore it entirely. I will use the official support route to verify whether the account is still active and request closure if there is no activity.