Fake Office 365 Update Email Designed to Hijack Your Account

Inboxes are being hit by “Office 365 Update” emails warning that your account is to be closed.

The emails, which supposedly come from the “Microsoft.com Team”,  claim that you must click an “Update Your Account” link if you wish to continue using Office 365.  It warns that if you ignore the update request, your account will be closed.

Here’s a screenshot of one of the scam emails:

If you click the link, a bogus Office 365 login form will load in your browser.

Here’s what the login form looks like:

Ironically, the fake login uses an online form service provided by Microsoft rival Google.  If you enter the requested information and click the “Submit” button”, you will see a message noting that your response has been recorded.

Criminals can now use the details you supplied to hijack your account.  Once the crooks have gained access, they can use your account to distribute scam and spam emails in your name,  access documents you have stored online, and commit further fraudulent activities.

Microsoft will never send you an email threatening to close your account if you do not click a link to log in and update details. Nor, of course, would Microsoft ever use an online form supplied by Google.

Keep in mind that is always safest to login to all of your online accounts by entering the address into your browser’s address bar or via a trusted app.

This scam email is very similar to another recent scam that falsely claims that your Office 365 address needs to be updated to the 2020 version. Again, the scam email is designed to steal your account login details.

A transcript of the scam email:

Office 365 – Update

Dear user

This message is being sent to you to inform you that your account is to be closed

If you wish to continue using this account please upgrade to our services.
Ignoring this message will cause your account to be closed

Update your account

Note: Please take a few moment to update your account now

Thanks

Regards
Microsoft.com Team