The email message below, which claims that some of the recipients' incoming messages have been placed on hold due to a recent upgrade of the recipients' AOL accounts, is a phishing scam created to steal AOL usernames and passwords. The email message was not sent by AOL, but by cyber-criminals, whose intentions are to gain access to the potential victims' email accounts and use them for malicious or fraudulent purposes.
The "AOL Incoming Messages Placed on Hold Due to Mail System Upgrade" Phishing Scam
From: Incoming Mail <wturbo@windstream.net>
Date: 22 November 2017 at 07:44:59 GMT
Subject: On Hold
Aol Help.
Dear AOL User,
In order to assist you, we have upgraded AOL Mail system for new features, due to this some of your incoming messages were placed on hold,
kindly RESTORE to receive pending messages.
We apologize for any inconveniences.
Thanks for your co-operation,
AOL Help Team
The link in the email message goes to a fake AOL website that tricks potential victims into entering their usernames and passwords on it. If the potential victims enter their AOL 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 the victims' accounts.
Therefore, AOL users who have received email messages like the one above should go directly to their email accounts(https://mail.aol.com/) instead of clicking on the links in the email messages. If there is anything wrong with their accounts, it will be shown to them after signing into.
Now, AOL users who were tricked by phishing scams should change their passwords immediately.