The fake "Microsoft Office 365 Authorize Email To Avoid Close Down" email is another scam being used by cybercriminals to trick recipients into clicking on the link in it which goes to a phishing website. Visitors who attempt to sign into the fake website will have their Microsoft account username and password sent to the cybercriminals behind the scam. Once the cybercriminals have received the stolen account credentials (usernames and passwords), they will use it to gain access to their accounts and use it fraudulently.
The "Microsoft Office 365 Authorize Email To Avoid Close Down" Phishing Scam
From: Panda, Saroj K
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2018 9:49:22 AM
Subject: Authorize Email To Avoid Close Down
You may no longer have access to your office365 email account because your email account has exceeded it's mail quota on the database server. If you want to continue using your office365 account, please verify your account to continue using your email service. Update through the link below.
UPDATE EMAIL
Sincerely,
Information Technology.
The link in this fake email goes to the following website:
- hxxps://90090421.com/aaa/office/
Once the cybercriminals have gotten their potential victims' Microsoft account credentials, they will gain access to their accounts, hijack them, and use them fraudulently. Hijacked accounts that are used fraudulently will be blocked by Microsoft, therefore, Microsoft users who have been tricked by the phishing scam are asked to change their passwords before their accounts are hijacked.
Microsoft users whose accounts have already been hijacked may follow the instructions below to recover their accounts:
- Go to https://login.live.com/
- Enter your email address and click the "Next" button
- Click the "Forgot my password" link
- Click "I think someone else is using my Microsoft account" link
- Follow the rest of the instructions
Remember, never click on a link in an email message to sign into your Microsoft account. Always go directly to www.hotmail.com, www.outlook.com, or login.live.com to sign-in instead. After signing in, important notifications, changes or updates will be shown to you, if there is any.