Online Threat Alerts (OTA) - Alerting you to scams and frauds.
Scamming - Fraud
The "De-Activation In Progress" email below, which claims that a closure request will be processed shortly to remove all data from the recipients' email accounts, is a phishing scam created to steal Microsoft Outlook or Hotmail usernames and passwords. The email message was not sent by Microsoft, but by cyber-criminals, whose intentions are to hijack email accounts and use them for malicious purposes. So, recipients of the same email message are advised to delete it, and not follow the instructions in it.
Re: De-Activation In Progress"Microsoft.com Team" - mkh474@hotmail.comMicrosoftDear Account User,User ID 84402We received your request on 18/01/18 12:05 AM (EET) to terminate your account. Please confirm this request to complete the deletion process.Failure to comply will lead to automatic De-activation.Yes, I would like to deactivateNo, I didn't make this requestTo opt out or change where you receive security notifications, click here.Thanks.© 2018 Email INC. All Rights Reserved.© Email INC. 2018.
Re: De-Activation In Progress
"Microsoft.com Team" - mkh474@hotmail.com
Microsoft
Dear Account User,
User ID 84402
We received your request on 18/01/18 12:05 AM (EET) to terminate your account. Please confirm this request to complete the deletion process.
Failure to comply will lead to automatic De-activation.
Yes, I would like to deactivate
No, I didn't make this request
To opt out or change where you receive security notifications, click here.
Thanks.
© 2018 Email INC. All Rights Reserved.
© Email INC. 2018.
The link in the email message goes to a fake Outlook or Microsoft website, which will attempt to trick the cyber-criminals' potential victims into entering their usernames and passwords on it. If the potential victims enter their Microsoft Outlook, Hotmail, Live 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 their accounts.
If you have received the same email message, please go directly to your email account instead of clicking on the links in the email message. And, if there is anything wrong with your account, it will be shown to you after signing in. If you were tricked by the phishing email, please change your Microsoft Hotmail/Live/Outlook immediately. If you are unable to, click here to report it to Microsoft.
This scam is similar to the following:
10
"From: Service Administration Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2020 10:18:40 AMTo: account-msn.com Subject: MICROSOFT ACCOUNT DE-ACTIVATION IN PROGRESS ™ Microsoft (c) 2020 ReviewDear user, Your in-coming Emails were placed on-hold due to lack of our recent upgrade which may lead to permanent delete of your account from our system data-base.Kindly take a minute to upgrade your account below CLICK HERE Note: In 24 hours your Microsoft accounts will be deactivated if not upgraded.."Here is another scam.
"From: Outlook Service Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2019 6:24:39 PMSubject: FINAL REMINDER FOR ACCOUNT ACTIVATION Dear,You have not updated your email account recently. kindly follow the link below to update your email account. UPDATE NOWThank you for choosing our service.Microsoft-account notification.MicrosoftThis is a mandatory service communication.Microsoft Office."Here is another scam.
Here is another scam:"From: Microsoft Mail Sent: 31 October 2018 11:26Subject: De-activation of your mailbox in progress MicrosoftYour Services Agreement made clearerUpdate and verify your email to avoidclosing immediatelyThis is to notify you that your email address has been included in our blacklist and has been marked as an automatic junk sender, and has to be updated and verified, otherwise it will be permanently closed.Click on the button below to update and verify instantly before 24 hours to show that you are not a robot and continue using your account.Update and verify your email address"
Asked to click on this link, is it reliable?https://outlook.Live.Com/owa/#*-hotmail.com
Yes, the link is ok or it is not malicious.
Here is another scam:"From: Microsoft.com Team nurumaulid-hotmail.comDate: 4 October 2018 at 04:57:18 BSTTo: member_service-outlook.commember_service-outlook.com Subject: 🚩ACCOUNT DE-ACTIVATION (ACTION REQUESTED)Mail Upgrade ©2018This is to notify you for the final time that we will have stopped processing incoming email and files on your accountsince you have refused to upgrade your account to our new service and we will be forced to de-activate your account if this notice is ignored.UPGRADE NOWNote: This upgrade is required immediately after receiving this message.Thanks,Account team © 2018"
