"New Mail Server Upgrade" I.T Support Email Messages are Phishing Scams
The email message below, which claims that the recipients’ email accounts need to be updated to a new mail server upgrade, is a phishing scam. The fake email message is being sent by cyber-criminals to the recipients into visiting a phishing website, where their personal information, email account user name and password will be stolen if they enter the same information on the fake website. Once the cyber-criminals have received their victims' information, they will use it to hijack their email accounts and use the accounts fraudulently.
Sample of the "New Mail Server Upgrade" I.T Support Email Message
Subject: I.T Support:- ID: Ticket#3359448
ID: Ticket#3359448
Dear Active User;
This notification is prompted to have your account updated to our new mail server upgrade. Upgrade is to improve our security and new mail experience. As an active user, use the link below to submit ticket for upgrade.
Submit Ticket now for upgrade
For security reasons, the upgrade portal link will expire within 24-hours.
Thanks,
I.T Support
The links in the email message go to an fake Outlook Web App website. Recipients of the email message who were tricked into visiting and submitting their information on the fake website, should change their email account passwords immediately. For victims who are unable to change their passwords, they should contact their email account providers.
This is why it is important that online users never click on a link to sign into their accounts. They should instead, go directly to their email provider's website and sign-in from there.
For example:
Outlook or Hotmail users should go directly to www.outlook.com or www.hotmail.com to sign into their accounts instead of clicking on link in an email message. Doing this will prevent them from becoming victims of phishing scams.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.