"Expand Storage Limit to Prevent Email Closure" Phishing Scam

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Updated: Jun. 19, 2018 2018-06-19T14:12:06
Posted: Jun. 19, 2018 2018-06-19T14:06:56
Online Threat Alerts (OTA)

The "Expand Storage Limit to Prevent Email Closure" email below is a phishing scam. Therefore, online users who have received emails like it, which claim their email accounts will be closed because they have reached their email storage limit, are asked not follow the instructions in them. They should just delete them instead. This is because the emails are fakes being sent by cybercriminals to frighten and trick the recipients into clicking on the link within it. The link goes to a phishing website or a fake website looking like Microsoft’s website, created by cybercriminals to trick potential victims into entering their Microsoft account usernames and passwords on it, by asking them to sign in. But, any attempts to sign into the fake website, will result in the victims’ Microsoft account usernames and passwords being sent to cybercriminals.

Once cybercriminals have gotten their potential victims’ account credentials (usernames and passwords), they will use it to hijack their Microsoft accounts and use them fraudulently. Therefore, recipients of the phishing email message (see below) who were tricked into clicking on the link within it and have attempted to sign into the phishing or fake website that they were taken, are asked to change their Microsoft account passwords immediately, before they are hijacked and used fraudulently by cybercriminals.

The "Expand Storage Limit to Prevent Email Closure" Phishing Scam

From: Nelly A.B. Agyemang-Gyamfi

Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2018 6:40:28 AM

Subject: FINAL WARNING! Expand Storage Limit to prevent email closure.

Dear User,

You have reached the storage limit of your mail and cannot receive new messages until you Expand your storage limit.

Follow the link below to Expand Storage Limit to prevent email closure.

Expand Limit

Sincerely,

Email Service ! ©2018 All Rights Reserved

Online users should never click on a link to sign into their accounts, they should instead, go directly to their email providers' website and sign-in from there. If there is something that needs to be done to their accounts, they will be notified.