[News] Windows Live Mail Possible Scam

[Majestic]

Hello all,

Being someone whom has been scammed before I am always keeping my eyes open for scams. Today I got the following email in one of my hotmail accounts:

Dear Account Owner

Due to the congestion in all Window Live Accounts we are removing all unused Accounts, Window Live would be shutting down all unused and unconfirmed Accounts, You are hereby ask to confirm your Accounts by filling out your Login Information below after clicking the reply button. Your Accounts will be suspended within 48 hours for security reasons if you refuse to reply this message.

* Username:
* Password:
* Date of Birth:
* Country Or Territory:

After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Sincerely,
The Windows Live Team

The email address allocated with this were:
verifyaccountteam2020@hotmail.com
smallwhitesheen@hotmail.com

Now this has to be a scam for several reason, one they ask for your password, secondly they only give you 24 hours and thirdly, Hotmail would just look at the recent activity and deactivate an inactive account without notification. I think the cut off time is 3 months.

I urge all hotmail/live users to not give out any details on your email address to these people as you'll most likely loose all control of your site as they'll change your password and pretend to be you to your friends and family.

 

[dEjavU]

I just recieved what appears to be another of this very same scam....

..this is the second time I got something like this and both times I deleted it emediately of course but just goes to show that these guys are still at it.

 

[Majestic]

Thanks for updating us here Dejavu.

 

[Borg_Queen]

I haven't received any of these types of e-mails, even though I have hotmail. So that too confirms these mails you two posted about are scams.

 

[ISS_Enterprise_D]

Can't say I've got a hotmail myself, but I'm already routinely cleaning out my e-mail daily. This post just gives me greater reason to do so, will definately be on the lookout now

 

[thunderfoot]

I've two email accounts. hotmail and one other. I use the hotmail account as a spam catcher. Works pretty well this way, too. Not what Micro$oft intended, I am sure, but hey. I also have not used Micro$oft's IE web browser for a very long time. I noticed when I changed the app I used to browse the Web, the amount of spam and other nonsense went down significantly.

Personal information security is not and should not be the primary concern of companies or websites. This properly is the responsibility of the person whom the information is about. And not just your own information but the information you have about family, friends, and others you interact with via the Internet. Before freely volunteering something about someone else you know, ask yourself the following questions:

1)Why would someone I've never met contact me to ask for information about someone else I know?

2) If they are contacting me, shouldn't they be doing so to confirm something about information they already have which was given to them by the person in question? Further, wouldn't this person tell me about it beforehand?

A great many internet scams rely upon the qualities of decency and friendship. Who among us does not want to help their friends out whenever and wherever possible? The scammers also do business with each other. Lists of information about people are routinely traded back and forth. Your personal information is a commodity which can bought, sold, and traded. Just like oil futures. It is imperative therefore to think hard about where and when and whom you give this information to. You should also ask yourself why they want it? If the answer is not immediately obvious and sensible, then do not give out the information.

If the notification process seems to be, "flying under the radar", there is a reason for it. Would not Micro$oft have used major media outlets and their own website to announce a change such as the one indicated by the email dejaVu got? Would not Micro$oft have notified everyone who has a hotmail account more or less at the same time? It follows pretty quickly then that he would not be the only one speaking here of this, does it not?

In conclusion and to reiterate; Personal information security is not and should not be the primary concern of companies or websites. This properly is the responsibility of the person whom the information is about. And not just your own information but the information you have about family, friends, and others you interact with via the Internet. Asking someone else to please be careful with information about you which you just gave them is the same as closing the barn door after the horses escape. Companies and websites cannot lose or be careless with(or sell to others) information about you which they do not have.

 

[Dan1025]

I got one of these emails today and thanks to the heads-up from this thread I promtly deleted it.

Thanks for the warning Majestic

 

[Majestic]

Thanks for the warning Majestic

I am glad it was of some help.