The email message below with the subject: "Final Warning: Outlook Warning Against Account Closure," which claims that the recipients should update their Microsoft accounts to Outlook 2016, or else they will not be able to send or receive e-mails, is a phishing scam. The fake email message is being sent by cybercriminals to trick Microsoft Outlook account users into sending them their account credentials, by asking them to click on a link in the same email message that goes a phishing Microsoft Outlook website. The phishing website, which looks exactly like Microsoft Outlook' sign-in page, will ask potential victims to sign-in with their Outlook or Microsoft accounts’ credential, but once the information is submitted, it will be sent to the cybercriminals responsible for the fake website. The cybercriminals will then use the information to hijack their victims’ Microsoft Outlook accounts and use them fraudulently.
The Phishing Microsoft Outlook Account Closure Email Message
Date: 5/23/16 4:36 AM (GMT-05:00)
From: acct-microsoft-verify@onmicrooffice -account.com
Subject: FINAL WARNING: OUTLOOK WARNING AGAINST ACCOUNT CLOSURE
Dear Valued User,
We're updating the 2016 Microsoft Services Agreement and the Microsoft Security Strength..
We want to take this opportunity to notify you about Outlook 2016 updates.
If you do not agree to update your account, you will be disconnected from sending and receiving e-mails in few hours.
Update Your Microsoft Accounting
Admin
Debbie Patrick
Thank you for being a Microsoft customer.
Microsoft Outlook users should never click on a link in an email message to sign into their accounts. It is recomended that they go directly to www.outlook.com, www.hotmail.com, or www.live.com, and sign into their accounts from there. This is the best way to protect against phishing scams created by cybercriminals to steal online account credentials (user names and passwords).