Microsoft account users who have received "Outlook Mail Upgrade 2019" email messages like the one below, which claim their email accounts will be blocked or the processing of their incoming emails will be stopped, is a phishing scam. The fake and phishing email messages are being sent by cybercriminals, who are attempting to steal their potential victims' Microsoft Outlook or Hotmail usernames and passwords, with the intention of hijacking the email accounts and using them maliciously. Therefore, recipients of the same email messages are advised to delete them, and not follow the instructions in them.
An "Outlook Mail Upgrade 2019" Phishing Scam
From: Outlook© account team <ttdeabreu55@hotmail.com>
Date: 15 January 2019 at 10:22:23 AM GMT-5
To: "user@t-online.de" <user@t-online.de>
Subject: ACCOUNT DE-ACTIVATION (ACTION REQUESTED)
Mail Upgrade ©2019
This is to notify you for the final time that we have stopped processing incoming emails on your account
since you have refused to upgrade your account to our new service and we have been forced to block your account if this notice is ignored.
UPGRADENOW
Note: This restriction will be disabled intermediately we confirm upgrade successful.
Thanks ,
Regards
Customer Care Team ©2019
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 cybercriminals 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 you have signed into it. 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.