Microsoft is warning Windows Live Hotmail users of a recent phishing scam that asks for the person's username, password, date of birth, and country or territory. It's not clear why the software giant has taken the time to warn users of this particular phishing scam, as this definitely isn't the first Microsoft- or Hotmail-related one. Hopefully, it has nothing to do with its success rate, but it's likely due to the fact that the e-mail claims it is from the Windows Live Hotmail team, both in the signature and at the start: "This Email is from Hotmail Customer Care and we are sending it to every Hotmail Email User Accounts Owner for safety."

I have not received the e-mail on either of my accounts, so perhaps the scam is not (yet?) widespread. The e-mail typically arrives from an @hotmail.com address and has the following subject: "Hotmail Warning (Verify Your Hotmail Account now To Avoid It Closed)." It blames congestion issues and claims the account will be suspended "for security reasons" if there is no response within 24 hours, and that the account will eventually be deleted in two weeks time. Make sure to warn your less tech-savvy friends and remind them that Microsoft (or any other major company for that matter) will never ask you for your personal information via an e-mail.

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