Phishing attack against MSN/Hotmail users – a new year, but old tricks still persist

It’s a brand new year and you would like to think that computer users are getting smarter about securing their systems, and not falling for the age-old tricks used by cybercriminals.

However, we still see our fair share of elementary unsophisticated attacks designed to steal credentials from the unwary.

Take this example, an email which claims to come from the “Windows Live Team” and warns Hotmail/MSN users that their account is at risk of immediate closure after different computers logged into it, and multiple attempts were made to guess the password:

Part of the email reads:

VERIFY THIS EMAIL ADDRESS TO AVOID IMMEDIATE CLOSURE

We have recently confirmed that different computers have logged onto your Hotmail and Msn account and multiple password errors have been entered. We are hereby suspending your account; as it has been used for fraudulent purposes.. Now we need you to reconfirm your account information to us. Click your reply tab, fill in the…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.