"Yahoo! Account Upgrade" Phishing Scams
Yahoo users who have received email messages like the one below, which claim they need to upgrade their accounts within 24 or 48 hours are asked to delete them and should not follow the instructions in them. This is because the email messages are phishing scams being sent by cybercriminals to trick Yahoo users into clicking on the link in them, which goes to phishing websites that steal Yahoo usernames and passwords.
A Sample of the Yahoo! Account Upgrade" Email Scam
From: Yahoo! - sheridant@epath.org
Sent: Monday, October 2, 2017 1:30 AM
Subject: Suspicious Alert!
Yahoo! Account Upgrade
Dear,
You're advise to switch to the new version within 48hrs to avoid disconnection.
Learn More
Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
For assistance, log in to your email! website and choose the "Help" link on any page.
Customer Service Email ID # 1009.
c 2017!, Inc. All rights reserved.
Yahoo users should never click on a link to sign into their accounts; they should instead, go directly to mail.yahoo.com or yahoo.com and sign-in from there. Once they are signed in, they will be alerted to updates, changes or other important notifications. Going directly to Yahoo’s website to sign into their accounts, will protect Yahoo users from phishing links that go to fake websites that steal usernames and passwords. Phishing websites steal their visitors’ usernames and passwords by asking them to sign into their accounts on the same fake website. Once visitors to the websites attempt to sign-in, their usernames and passwords (credentials) will be sent to the cybercriminals responsible for the phishing websites. As soon as the cyber criminals receive their potential victims’ usernames and passwords, they will sign into their accounts, hijack and use them fraudulently.
Yahoo users who have been tricked by the "Upgrade to Yahoo Mail 9.1" email scam, are asked to change their Yahoo passwords immediately before their accounts are hijacked and used fraudulently.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.