Be Wise: Chain Mail and Fraud.

Don't get fooled
Don't get taken for a ride.
Learn to spot the warning signs of a fake e-mail.


Here is an example of an e-mail which is supposedly from Hotmail:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Windows Live Team Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 9:16 PM Subject: Hotmail Account Verification!!! Verify Your Account Now To Avoid It Closed (HV2G99AAQ) Dear Account User This Email is from Hotmail Customer Care and we are sending it to every Hotmail Email User Accounts Owner for safety. we are having congestions due to the anonymous registration of Hotmail accounts so we are shutting down some Hotmail accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. We are sending this email to you so that you can verify and let us know if you still want to use this account. If you are still interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your User name, password, date of birth and your country information would be needed to verify your account. Due to the congestion in all Hotmail users and removal of all unused Hotmail Accounts, Hotmail would be shutting down all unused Accounts, You will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Information below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons. * Username : .............................. * Password: ................................  * Date of Birth: ............................ * Country Or Territory: ................ After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences. Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently. Sincerely, The Windows Live Hotmail Team    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So the question is, how do you know whether it's true. How can you find out whether your account is really in danger of being shut down? Microsoft HOST your e-mail account. They do NOT ever need your password to do anything because they already have the potential of having full access if they need it Step 1. Find out where the e-mail came from. Sometimes, the e-mail will say that it's from something along the lines of: "Windows Live Care." This is just a front, and you'll find that the e-mail was actually sent from an e-mail address like: xroxxy33@hotmail.com. This is so obviously a personal e-mail address, why would Microsoft send you an e-mail using the e-mail account xroxxy33@hotmail.com? Step 2. Think to yourself... Does it add up?  we are having congestions due to the anonymous registration of Hotmail accounts so we are shutting down some Hotmail accounts and your account was among those to be deleted. If they've been spammed by Hotmail registrations, they'd know which ones they are. Remember, all Hotmail e-mail accounts are hosted on Microsoft's servers. Meaning that Microsoft know exactly when an account was made, whether it's in use, how much space it's taking up and when you last logged in.  Bottom line: Your Hotmail account would NOT be amongst the accounts to be removed. Step 3. Microsoft know about punctuation. If you look carefully, there's punctuation errors. This would NOT appear in an official Microsoft e-mail. Step 4. * Username : .............................. * Password: ................................  * Date of Birth: ............................ * Country Or Territory: ................ This is funny! If this was a true scenario, they would re-direct you to an officially hosted Microsoft website, protected by SSL, which would contain a proper form allowing you to input details. They would not send you instructions followed by multiple dots as if to insinuate the line to write on. This is a laughable joke. If Microsoft sent this e-mail to everyone, and expected a reply from everyone inside the e-mail. Microsoft employees would have to manually input each account, copying it from the e-mail. Think about how many Hotmail accounts there are!! This would take years. Don't fool for this, it's a joke. One, big, laughable, joke.