Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.
Scamming - Fraud
Yahoo users who have received email messages like the one below, which claim that a request has been received to close down their accounts should delete the same messages and not follow the instructions in them. This is because the email messages are being sent by cyber criminals to trick Yahoo users into visiting a phishing or fake Yahoo website that steals account credentials (usernames and passwords).
-- Forwarded Message --From: Yahoo <cutenenen@yahoo.com>Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2017 5:20 PMSubject: Account Closure RequestYAHOO !Dear Valued User,We received your request to close down your account.We will process your request within 24 hours.If it was not you, kindly follow below and sign in to cancel request and continue using our services.CANCEL REQUEST HEREFailure to follow this notification will lead to error or your mailbox will be closed completely.RegardsYMail Team.
-- Forwarded Message --
From: Yahoo <cutenenen@yahoo.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2017 5:20 PM
Subject: Account Closure Request
YAHOO !
Dear Valued User,
We received your request to close down your account.
We will process your request within 24 hours.
If it was not you, kindly follow below and sign in to cancel request and continue using our services.
CANCEL REQUEST HERE
Failure to follow this notification will lead to error or your mailbox will be closed completely.
Regards
YMail Team.
Yahoo users who have already been tricked by the same phishing email messages are asked to change their passwords before their accounts are hijacked and used fraudulently by cybercriminals. Yahoo users whose accounts have already been hijacked can go to https://login.yahoo.com/ and click the "Trouble Signing in?" link to recover their accounts.
To protect against phishing scams, Yahoo users should never click on a link to sign into their accounts, they should instead go directly to https://login.yahoo.com/ or use the Yahoo mobile app. Once users have signed into their accounts they will be notified of changes, requests, or updates if there is any.
4
I received one of these last month (June 10, 2018) and I foolishly replied saying I "did not request closure of my Yahoo account."Ever since the day I sent the email I cannot access the Yahoo url (www.yahoo.com).Whenever I try to access Yahoo it comes up as "error page timed out."Is there anything I can do to get back on Yahoo? By the way, this problem is only on my cell phone. I don't own a computer and I don't have wifI at home. I just use the cell data and free wifI at places like the library. I hope that you read this and that you can help me. Thank you, Missy
Seems to be a problem with your internet connection. But, you must try signing into your account from another device or computer, and if it works, it means it is a problem with your phone.
HI and thank you. I'll try signing in at the library computer.But I am able to access all other URLs with no problem on my cell phone. Do you mean it's possible that for only 1 URL (yahoo.com) that my cell phone could be the problem? It's especially strange because it happened exactly when I responded to that phishing email. Just coincidence? Thank you again! I'll let you know what happens.Missy
Phishing emails steal usernames and passwords, which allows a cyber criminal to gain access to your account and hijack it if necessary. But, they do not block URLs.
