Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.

Warning - Account De-activation is Being Processed - Verify to Protect Scam

The email message below with the subject: "Warning: Account de-activation is being processed (Verify to protect)," which claims that the recipients' email accounts are in the process of being deactivated and the recipients must click the link within the same email message to cancel the deactivation process or lose their Microsoft accounts, is a phishing scam. The fake and phishing email message was created and sent by cybercriminals to steal Microsoft Outlook or Hotmail user names and passwords, with the intention of hijacking the email accounts and using them maliciously or fraudulently. Therefore, recipients of the same email message are advised to delete it, and not follow the instructions in it.

The Phishing Microsoft Outlook Email Message

From: Microsoft Team asteju16@hotmail.com
Date: Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 5:48 AM +0200
Subject: Warning: Account de-activation is being processed (Verify to protect)
To: noreply@outlook.inc

Dear Microsoft Account User,

Account De-activation is being processed.

Kindly CLICK HERE to cancel process, or completely lose Microsoft account.

Regards,
Outlook Team.
Copyright © 2016 Microsoft

The link in the email message goes to a fake Outlook or Microsoft website, which will attempt to trick the cyber-criminals' potential victims into entering their usernames and passwords on it. If the potential victims enter their Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail, Live usernames and passwords on the fake website, it will be sent to the cyber-criminals behind the email scam, who will use the information to hijack their accounts.

If you have received the same email message, please go directly to your email account instead of clicking on the links in the email message. And, if there is anything wrong with your account, it will be shown to you after you have signed into it. If you were tricked by the phishing email, please change your Microsoft Hotmail/Live/Outlook immediately. If you are unable to, click here to report it to Microsoft.

This scam is similar to the following:

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