How do I get my address book back after my account was taken over by a scammer?

Lori and Timon: How do I get my address book back after my account was taken over by a scammer?
My identity was just stolen in the last 12 hours, and though I’ve seemed to fix the immediate problem by changing my email password (the scammer seems to have taken a similar ID and fiddles with my account preferences), all my contacts in my address book are now gone. How can I get them back ASAP?
PLEASE HELP!
Thanks!

Answers and Views:

Answer by Froggie
Only someone with your password can access your account to change preferences. Of course, a thorough scan with anti-virus and a couple of good anti-spyware programs in Safe Mode is an obvious suggestion. Hit F8 repeatedly when the screen first lights up, then choose Safe Mode, using the arrow keys and Enter to get there. Run each full scan in Safe Mode, re-booting into Safe Mode after each scan. Afterwards, delete all System Restore Points. Start > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore > delete (small print on left) Create a new System Restore Point after you re-boot into Normal Mode.

Changing your password is NOT sufficient, even though that is Yahoo’s advice! Use a very strong password (letters, capitals, punctuation, numbers, symbols – the longer the better.) Start with a sentence, and make substitutions. Be sure the result is one you can remember. Change your ‘Secret’ Questions and Answers too – ones that nobody could guess – Yahoo even allows you to invent your own questions. Change and add all-new alternate e-mail addresses.

The E-Mail address for Yahoo!customer care is:

Hacked? E-mail with details of the problem to:

In case of a hacked Yahoo account, where you cannot sign in, (a changed password and secret questions), the Account Verification department offers two ways to contact them:
1. Call 866-850-4303 toll-free (Open 7 days a week, 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time)
2. Use the form below to send an email with all of the information an agent needs to respond within 12-24 hours:
https://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/edit/al…
3. Give them your identity using your birthday, ZIP or postal code at the time you last updated, your country, and the same alternate email address and Security Question(s) that you provided during registration. Knowing the approximate date when you set up the account also helps.