I am begging for help. iCloud verification problem

[richard32780]

I've got an Apple id that I've used for past purchases and now with my new 4s I want to use the iCloud. When I backed up my old 3GS before buying my new iphone, my contacts have all disappeared. Where did they go? I'm assuming to iCloud but I have no way of finding this out due to the the screen saying "account cannot be verified" with a "check your email" prompt. There is nothing in my email folder/spam or otherwise. I'm at a loss here.