"Microsoft Account Violation" Outlook Termination Phishing Scams

The email messages below with the subject: "Microsoft Account Violation‏," which claim that the recipients' Hotmail, Outlook or Live email accounts have been short-listed for termination because their accounts violated the Microsoft Services Agreement, terms, and policy, are phishing scams sent by cybercriminals to frighten the recipients into clicking on a link within the same email message. The link in the fake email messages goes to a phishing website that will ask the recipients who have clicked on it to sign-in with their usernames and passwords to cancel the termination request. But, once the requested information is submitted, it will be sent to the cybercriminals behind the phishing scam.

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Microsoft Account Violation Outlook Termination Phishing Scams

To protect against phishing scams, online users are asked to never click on a link to sign into their online accounts. They should instead, go directly to their online account provider's website by typing the website's address in their web browsers or use a popular search engine to find their online provider's website.

The "Microsoft Account Violation‏" Phishing Email

From: members_unit.verifyteam@ outlook.com
Subject: Microsoft Account Violation‏
Date: Tue, 17 May 2016 19:53:12 +0800

Dear User,

We wish to inform you that due to our terms and policy violation with your Outlook Account, your account is been short-listed to for Termination.

Our policy control team advises you answer the validation questions below to avoid the final termination process.

Click here to cancel termination

Note: Avoiding this mail will make you lose your account and files with Outlook.

We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Regards
Account Control Management

От: Microsoft 2016 user_maintainance26518@outlook.com
Отправлено: 10 августа 2016 г. 3:21
Кому: Microsoft 2016
Тема: Microsoft account violation

Microsoft account

Microsoft account violation

Dear Outlook User.

Your account have violated the Microsoft Services Agreement.

What do you need to do?

Please contact Customer Support. We'll ask you some questions and help you make sure your account is secure.

Help us protect your account by verifying.

For security reasons your account will be temporarily blocked within the next 24hours if not yet verified.

Verify your account

Thank you for using Microsoft services.
Microsoft Admin: Kerry Williams

Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more, please read our Microsoft Corporation privacy statement

One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98069

Best regards,
Microsoft account team

Once cybercriminals have gotten their potential victims’ account credentials (usernames and passwords), they will use it to hijack their Microsoft accounts and use them fraudulently. Therefore, recipients of the phishing email message who were tricked into clicking on the link within it and have attempted to sign into the phishing or fake website that they were taken, are asked to change their Microsoft account passwords immediately, before they are hijacked and used fraudulently by cybercriminals.

Hotmail or Microsoft email account users who have received suspicious email messages can verify the authenticity of email messages, but going directly to www.hotmail.com, www.live.com or www.outlook.com and sign into their accounts from there. If there is something wrong with their accounts, they will be notified once they have signed in.

Check the comment section below for additional information, share what you know, or ask a question about this article by leaving a comment below. And, to quickly find answers to your questions, use our search Search engine.

Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.

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Comments, Questions, Answers, or Reviews

Comments (Total: 1)

To protect your privacy, please remove sensitive or identifiable information from your comments, questions, or reviews. We will use your IP address to display your approximate location to other users when you make a post. That location is not enough to find you.

Your post will be set as anonymous because you are not signed in. An anonymous post cannot be edited or deleted, therefore, review it carefully before posting. Sign-in.

January 17, 2018 at 3:07 PM by
"Microsoft Account Violation" Outlook Termination Phishing Scams
an anonymous user from: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

I was just asked to complete this, this is not the first time, I have ignored all past requests as they don't seem correct,

"Your Outlook Account Deactivation Is Being Processed

A TOS violation error has been reported on your outlook account (glennatkins25@hotmail.com) and your account will be terminated.

If you wish to continue using your outlook account, you are required to resolve the TOS violation error.

To resolve this error, please click below and follow the validation instructions.

Failure to complete the validation process would result to permanent deactivation of your account.

www.outlook.com

To opt out or change where you receive security notifications, click here.

Thanks,

The Microsoft account team

Microsoft Corporation

One Microsoft Way

Redmond, WA 98052"

Delete

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Online Threat Alerts Security Tips

Pay the safest way

Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.

Guard your personal information

In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.

Be careful of the information you share

Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with

Know who you’re dealing with

Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.

Check your accounts

Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.

Don’t believe promises of easy money

If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.

Do not open email from people you don’t know

If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.

Think before you click

If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.

Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond

If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.

Be careful with links and new website addresses

Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.

Secure your personal information

Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.

Stay informed on the latest cyber threats

Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.

Use Strong Passwords

Strong passwords are critical to online security.

Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs

Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.

Update the operating systems on your electronic devices

Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.

What if You Got Scammed?

Stop Contact With The Scammer

Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.

Secure Your Finances

  • Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
  • Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:

Check Your Computer

If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.

Change Your Account Passwords

Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.

Report The Scam

Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.

Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:

  • Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
  • Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
  • Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.

How To Recognize a Phishing Scam

Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.

Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might

  • say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
  • claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
  • say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
  • include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
  • want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
  • say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
  • offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real

About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.

By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.

With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.

Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.

Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).

"Microsoft Account Violation" Outlook Termination Phishing Scams