Is this a dodgy email from Hotmail?

hardpressed

Got an email from Hotmail today whcih say" Due to anonymous registration of our account which is causing congestion to our service we are shutting down some accounts and your account was among those to be delated" so they want me to verify I own the account. I suspect it's a scam, can anyone confirm that.

However I've had problems for the last couple of weeks with Hotmail, I get 'problem loading page' and 'server not found'. Fortunatly I'd bookmarked an email and get get into Hotmail via that. Any ideas what the problem is, please?

waddler_8

I suspect it's a scam, can anyone confirm that.

Yes, delete it.

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/windows-live-hotmail-phishing-scam.shtml

neilwoods

Any email you get that says your account has suspicious activity or other excuses and then ask's you to confirm your details by either sending them or to click on a link they have provided is usually a scam or phishing attempt.

If in doubt, whoever it claims to be from. Go directly to the there and use there contact details to enquire about the email

texranger

yes i got one today which i knew was a scam as i can 100% guarantee that i do not and have never had a hotmail account. the IP of the email originated in italy

davester

texranger wrote: »

yes i got one today which i knew was a scam as i can 100% guarantee that i do not and have never had a hotmail account. the IP of the email originated in italy

Thats probably the location of an already infected botnet computer and not the originator of the email.




I would change your password and run a complete virus scan to make sure. Hotmail like other webmail sites inactivate your account after about 2 years of not logging in. So they would automatically be removing accounts everyday that are over 2 years old and never logged in. So certainly wouldn't be deleting your account.

hardpressed

Thanks everyone, I've now deleted the email. Any ideas why I can't get into my emails?

MrWillyWonka

hardpressed wrote: »

Thanks everyone, I've now deleted the email. Any ideas why I can't get into my emails?

Do you mean you can't log in? More information is required on your problem.

texranger

davester wrote: »

Thats probably the location of an already infected botnet computer and not the originator of the email.




I would change your password and run a complete virus scan to make sure. Hotmail like other webmail sites inactivate your account after about 2 years of not logging in. So they would automatically be removing accounts everyday that are over 2 years old and never logged in. So certainly wouldn't be deleting your account.

no the italian IP was the originator of the email, ive been in the internet business since 1999 and know what to look for in a header

so you say that i have to change my password on a hotmail account i do not have and have never had a hotmail account.

i just wonder why people comment when they clearly dont read the threads.

hardpressed

MrWillyWonka wrote: »

Do you mean you can't log in? More information is required on your problem.

Normally to get to emails I click on 'Windows Live Hotmail' at the top of the screen and it takes me straight there, but now when I do that it says server not found. However if I go into Bookmarks and find an email that I've bookmarked I get get into email from there.

RussJK

texranger wrote: »

no the italian IP was the originator of the email, ive been in the internet business since 1999 and know what to look for in a header

Could you explain how you can tell the original source of the emails?

If a computer was infected and part of a botnet, and the botnet instructed it to send some emails - why would the email header include the botnet C&C IP? Or even the person controlling the C&C?

The whole point of using a botnet to send spam email, besides spreading the load, is to help evade domain level spam filtering and disguise the origin of the spam.

MrWillyWonka

hardpressed wrote: »

Normally to get to emails I click on 'Windows Live Hotmail' at the top of the screen and it takes me straight there, but now when I do that it says server not found. However if I go into Bookmarks and find an email that I've bookmarked I get get into email from there.

"At the top of the screen", do you mean on the browser toolbar or within a website? I assume you mean the former and I suspect what's happening is that the web address is incorrect. When the page loads "server not found" what does it say in the address bar?