"Your Microsoft De-activation Notice" Phishing Scam
The "Your Microsoft De-activation Notice" email message below which claims that the recipients' unused accounts will be deleted to free up space, is a phishing scam created to steal Microsoft 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 should not follow the instructions in it.
The "Your Microsoft De-activation Notice" Phishing Scam
From: OUTLOOK UPDATE - martinridgley600@hotmail.com
Sent: 23 April 2019 13:02
Subject: Your Microsoft De-activation Notice
Dear Valued User,
Please view the attachment and CANCEL-REQUEST.
Thanks,
Windows Outlook Team
Due to recent online security concerns and increased traffic on our database, we are deleting all Unused Accounts to free up space. If you still want to maintain your account, we require you to verify that your Account is still active within 72 Hours.
Failure to do so will result to the permanent Termination of your Mail Account and you will not be able to recover any of your mails (Inbox / Sent / Draft / All Folders) stored on our Servers.
CLICK HERE TO VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT
Best Regards,
The MicrosoftAccounts Team.
This email can’t receive replies. To give us feedback on this alert, click here.
For more information, visit the Microsoft Account Help Center.
You receive this mandatory email service announcement to update you about The important Changes to your Microsoft Product or Account.
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.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.