The "AOL Email Account De-activation Confirmation" email, which claims the recipients' mail version is outdated and they should upgrade to version 9.1, is a phishing scam created to steal AOL usernames and passwords.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 Email Account De-activation Confirmation" Phishing Scam
From: Aol Account <karen_luis_64@comcast.net>
Date: December 3, 2018 at 6:19:48 AM PST
Subject: Email Account De-activation Confirmation
Reply-To: Aol Account <karen_luis_64@comcast.net>
Dear Customer,
Your Mail version is outdated, failure to Upgrade to the newest Aol Mail 9.1 now will result in a permanent account closure.
According to provision 17.9 of Terms and Conditions, Aol may at any time terminate its services for accounts!
Click here to upgrade and accept our new terms and conditions.
Thanks for taking these additional steps to keep your account safe.
Aol! Mail Team
The link in the email message goes to a fake AOL website in an attempt to trick the 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 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 in.
Now, AOL users who were tricked by phishing scams should change their passwords immediately.