Yahoo users, if you have received email messages claiming that they need to upgrade to a new version of Yahoo Mail and threaten to deactivate your accounts if you do not, please delete the same email messages, and do not follow the instructions in them. This is because the email messages are phishing scams being sent by cyber criminals to trick Yahoo users into clicking on the link in them, which goes to phishing websites that steal Yahoo usernames and passwords.
Sample of the "We Are Closing All Old Version of Yahoo Mailbox" Email Scam
From: Yahoo! <hha2_stu@kent.edu>
Sent: Friday, May 5, 2017, 5:50:14 PM MDT
Subject: New Mail Upgrade
Dear Subscriber ,
We are closing all old version of Yahoo Mailbox as from May. 10th.
Tap below to get a more organized mailbox to avoid being deactivated.
UPGRADE NOW TO THE NEWEST VERSION
Thank You.
Yahoo support
Please do not reply to this message. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered.
Yahoo Team
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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