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.
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.