"Microsoft Account Limit Almost Exceeded"
The email message below, which claims that the recipients’ email account storage has almost exceeded its limit and they should click on a link to add additional storage, is a phishing scam. The fake email message was created and sent by cyber-criminals to steal the recipients’ email account username and password. Once cyber-criminals have gotten their victims’ email account credentials, they will hijack their accounts and use them fraudulently. So, recipients of the fake email message and others like it should delete them and never attempt to click on the links or follow the instructions in them.
Recipients of the same message who have already followed the instructions in it should change their email account's password immediately before their accounts are hijacked and used fraudulently.
The "Microsoft Account Limit Almost Exceeded" Phishing Scam
From: 2017 Office Team [mailto:bcr16b@my.fsu.edu]
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 10:42 AM
Subject: Microsoft account limit almost exceeded
Dear user,
The quota limit of your mail: is almost full.
88% Used
To prevent your Incoming/Outgoing mail from getting errors
Click on https://quota.office.com to add additional 15 GB free and mandatory storage.
© 2017 Office Team
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The link in the fake email message goes to a fake Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail or Live website. On the fake website, visitors will be asked to sign-in, if they attempt to do so, their email usernames and passwords will be sent to the cybercriminals responsible for the phishing email message. Once the cybercriminals have gotten their potential victims Microsoft account credentials, they will gain access to their accounts, hijack the accounts by changing passwords, and use the accounts fraudulently.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.