Old website, outdated login

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  heatheranddoug · Member · Feb 9, 2023 at 9:51 pm

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  We had a website over a decade ago as an early site for a startup photography business. We’ve since had 3 other sites and moved through multiple hosts & email addresses. The problem lies in that this old site is still up and seemingly active but we cannot login to make any amendments or take it down… All our WordPress logins take us to a later site we ran through them, and the email addresses linked with the original site are no longer valid…
  Any help in taking this site down would be greatly appreciated….

  WP.com: Yes
  Correct account: Unknown

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to moderators and staff)

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  supernovia · Staff · Feb 9, 2023 at 11:52 pm

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  Hey there,

  The problem lies in that this old site is still up and seemingly active but we cannot login to make any amendments or take it down

  Have you tried this account recovery process? That’s the best way to regain access. You might also try commenting on a post, then look through any and all email addresses you would have been using at the time for the new comment notification. If you can find it, log in using that email address and you’ll be in the right account. Or if all else fails, you can reach out here with any proof of ownership you have: passwordhelp@wordpress.com Let us know if you need more help!

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  heatheranddoug · Member · Feb 12, 2023 at 10:14 pm

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  Thanks for your reply..

  Unfortunately the email address linked with the WordPress blog has been deactivated due to inactivity over the last decade. and a new address can’t be made to be the same as yahoo.co.nz no longer exists.
  This also hinders any correspondence from WordPress in 2009 to supply
  A) Transaction ID,
  B) Activation URL or key,
  C)two Factor authentication codes.
  And our online banking only takes us back to 2016, so we cannot find a transaction code…
  The only main proof of site ownership is the phone number listed on the site is still owned by us as are all the images, including the face of the person in the contact us page… :)
  Will contact the Password help email address you’ve supplied thanks…

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  aisajib · Member · Feb 13, 2023 at 3:58 am

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  Hi there!

  Thanks for sharing the additional context. I see that you’ve emailed us already. Our account recovery team has replied to your email. Feel free to respond to that email if you need further help or have more questions.

  Regards

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  heatheranddoug · Member · Feb 13, 2023 at 4:15 am

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  Many thanks team..
  For any further readers, the WordPress team were only able to set the website to “Private” as there was personal information on the site. As we couldn’t prove ownership due to lack of old email access stated above, even with current phone number or profile photo, there was no way to recover website access.. Not a worry with us though. Private and inaccessible site is the win here..