"Upgrade Your Hotmail inbox to Outlook.com" Phishing Scam

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Updated: Oct. 18, 2017 2017-10-18T14:27:50
Posted: Oct. 18, 2017 2017-10-18T14:23:31
Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

The email message below which claims that the recipients should upgrade their Microsoft Hotmail accounts to Outlook is a phishing scam. The fake email message is being sent by cybercriminals to trick Microsoft account users into sending them their account credentials, by asking them to click on a link in the same email message that goes a phishing Microsoft website. The phishing website, which looks exactly like Microsoft's sign-in page, will ask potential victims to sign-in with their Microsoft accounts’ credential, but once the information is submitted, it will be sent to the cybercriminals responsible for the fake website. The cybercriminals will then use the information to hijack their victims’ Microsoft accounts and use them fraudulently.

The "Upgrade Your Hotmail inbox to Outlook.com" Phishing Scam

From: Outlook Team <milja.leppanen@konecranes.com>

Date: 18 October 2017 at 16:46

Subject: Upgrade Your Outlook

Upgrade your Hotmail inbox to Outlook.com

One click puts your inbox on a whole new level.

Get the newest email service from Microsoft for free.

Your Hotmail inbox will be automatically deactivated from Outlook.com soon, or you can quickly upgrade today by clicking the button above.

Outlook.com has the best of Hotmail's features like Sweep, Filters and world-class spam protection that blocks 97% of spam from your inbox. When you upgrade to Outlook.com you get so much more than just a new inbox.

UPGRADE NOW

A seamless upgrade – no worries necessary

When you upgrade to Outlook.com, your email address, password, emails and contacts will remain the same. If you like, you can get a new @outlook.com address by following the instructions here. If you have questions about the upgrade, please visit our FAQ page

All the best,

Microsoft account users should never click on a link in an email message to sign into their accounts. It is recommended that they go directly to www.outlook.com, www.hotmail.com, or www.live.com, and sign into their accounts from there. Once they have signed in, they will be notified of important upgrade or changes. This is the best way to protect against phishing scams created by cybercriminals to steal online account credentials (usernames and passwords).