Is that a Scam?

[ad61]

I’m not sure if I post in the right forum, if not, thank you for redirect it.

I’ve just received an E-mail from Microsoft telling me that, due to inactivity, my gmail account will soon be deleted. I’ve been using it for almost 15 years. They ask me to sign in or click on a link to learn more about it. Is it a Scam?

Thank you.

[Mike Teavee]

LMAO... GMail is Google's email platform ???? 

 

Lamest attempt at a scam I've ever seen ???? 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Mike Teavee

[chickenslegs]

Seems there are similar scams reported ...

https://www.ricksdailytips.com/fake-gmail-account-closure-emails/

[MJCM]

3 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

LMAO... GMail is Google's email platform ???? 

 

Lamest attempt at a scam I've ever seen ???? 

 

Yep, totally a scam what has MS to do with Google Gmail. ????

 

[JayClay]

It may be genuine. Microsoft allow you to sign up to their services using an email account with any email address, even gmail.

 

One way to be sure is to right click the login link and inspect very carefully the url they're trying to send you to.

 

That being said, Microsoft don't generally close accounts down until they've been dormant for a very long time, so even if it is genuine,  chances are the OP doesn't actively use the service that's being shut down anyway. 

[Bill97]

15 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

LMAO... GMail is Google's email platform ???? 

 

Lamest attempt at a scam I've ever seen ???? 

 

You just don’t know many people use a gmail address for Microsoft user name.  So you are again OTL.  

[Jingthing]

Good scam if it is one.

It is the truth that gmail is actively deleting dormant accounts now.

[WilliamSmits]

I receive email about once each week about closing account, missed payments, packages received, bonus payments and so on.

Always there is a link or attachment ending at .shtml 

 

(Do not click the link as you will be tempted to do..)

[MJCM]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Good scam if it is one.

It is the truth that gmail is actively deleting dormant accounts now.

But then that Email should come from Gmail and not MS IMHO

 

it would help if the OP could post the headers of that email plus the site to where that link points to

Edited June 3, 2023 by MJCM

[Jingthing]

4 minutes ago, MJCM said:

But then that Email should come from Gmail and not MS IMHO

 

it would help if the OP could post the headers of that email plus the site to where that link points to

One would think. 

I don't gmail is even warning people.

They want to clean house.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Jingthing

[MJCM]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

One would think. 

I don't gmail is even warning people.

They want to clean house.

https://support.google.com/accounts/thread/212869056/can-microsoft-close-my-gmail-account?hl=en#:~:text=Once your account is closed,you left them until then.

[Ohyesuare]

Definitely a scam but if all you needed to do is sign in to not lose it then you'd be safe anyway, just NEVER click links through emails, go directly by typing it in manually.

[JayClay]

3 minutes ago, Ohyesuare said:

Definitely a scam

Because?

[Madgee]

It's a MS account that was opened with a Gmail email address as the contact point. It does not have to have a MS associated email account. 

 

If the notice is read correctly it states that the MS account that has not been used associated with the Gmail address is going to be closed, not the email address. 

 

I got this message from Microsoft account. 'Your account is set to - Microsoft Community

 

Personally, I'd just ignore it!

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Madgee

[Lacessit]

Setting up a new gmail account is easy. If the communication from MS is genuine, let them do it. If not, it's a scam. If I were the OP, I would simply delete it.

 

Given I use free Linux OS , and despise Microsoft and all its works, not likely to receive said email anyway.

[BangkokReady]

More than likely a scam.

 

You should be able to click something in the address lines to see the actual email address it was sent from and it will probably look off.  It might be just some random numbers.

 

I think it's true for most companies that they will never send you a link to access your account, but tell you instead to login as you would normally.

 

You should get in a habit of trying to never follow links in an email where they ask you to log in, but instead access the website through your normal method and see if there are any reports or messages there.

[StayinThailand2much]

52 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

Seems there are similar scams reported ...

https://www.ricksdailytips.com/fake-gmail-account-closure-emails/

I usually get the ones about PayPal, never mind that foreigners in Thailand can't use it anymore, and I haven't used my account for several years. Some of the scams seem to have their origin in New Zealand, which I blame on posts I did on Facebook...

[NoDisplayName]

"Your account is set to close on 02/08/2023."

 

Doesn't Microsoft use the 'mercan date format (MM/DD/YYYY) in their emails and correspondence?

 

If that's the case, upcoming account closure in August should be 08/02/2023.

 

"To learn more, click here."

 

What address is hidden under the "here"?

[JayClay]

16 minutes ago, BangkokReady said:

More than likely a scam.

More than likely not!!!

 

More likely is that the OP signed up for a Microsoft account for some reason or another,  and hasn't used it since!

[bignok]

2 minutes ago, JayClay said:

More than likely not!!!

 

More likely is that the OP signed up for a Microsoft account for some reason or another,  and hasn't used it since!

Why is the OP asking us? Only he knows if he has a microsoft account or not.

 

 

[Mike Teavee]

43 minutes ago, Bill97 said:

You just don’t know many people use a gmail address for Microsoft user name.  So you are again OTL.  

Ok so having re-read the OP I realised that it could/should be read as MS closing an account registered with them under a Gmail address.

 

Aside from a complete close down of service, I have never known MS to (genuinely) write to Users saying that they would be closing their accounts so I obviously (skim) read it as MS were threatening to close their Gmail account.

 

 

OTL??? - I did Google & it came back with One True Love 

https://slang.net/meaning/otl#:~:text=%2B6-,One true love,adoration for their favorite celebrities. ?

 

I'm assuming you didn't mean this. Maybe I should have Bing'd it... 

[carlyai]

Buxxer! 

How easy it is to make a mistake.

Today I got a message from Australia Post saying they would close my account due to inactivity.

Oh Dear :(

I could be OK as I had to log in......now thinking maybe not...buxxer again.

Ohhhh Dear.

 

What should/ might happen next?

...thinking...

There again I had my VPN on, so should be OK    maybe   buxxer  buxxer   buxxer.

 

 

 

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, JayClay said:

One way to be sure is to right click the login link and inspect very carefully the url they're trying to send you to.

And checking the real sender address.

Often difficult on such gadget apps.

On web mails you usually have to hover over the sender address.

Obvious spam if you look at the sender address:

 

Legit sender address, just advertising:

Edited June 3, 2023 by KhunBENQ

[Dan O]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Good scam if it is one.

It is the truth that gmail is actively deleting dormant accounts now.

It's a scam. They dont have attached links they would tell you to log in to your Gmail account directly. Anything with a link should not be used as that's how they infect your machine or phone with virus'. MS has nothing to do with Gmail accounts 

[BangkokReady]

34 minutes ago, JayClay said:

More than likely not!!!

????

 

34 minutes ago, JayClay said:

More likely is that the OP signed up for a Microsoft account for some reason or another,  and hasn't used it since!

Since the OP has "been using it for almost 15 years", I think it's fairly unlikely that he hasn't used it since he signed up for it.

[Muzzique]

 

1 hour ago, Madgee said:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/i-got-this-message-from-microsoft-account-your/1395c3c8-e711-4a57-a4db-4182c6971729

 

Madgee shared a trail with the same enquiry

 

Contact MS directly to clarify. In this enquiry it was stated by the requester it was a genuine email after they contacted MS but their reply could be fake . Only MS will know.

 

Treat it as suspicious and a phishing email till you have contact MS directly to clarify

 

 

Note to everyone. You can use a gmail email address as an MS account user email.

 

This is not an email about a Gmail account, but an MS account where a Gmail address has been used to set up the MS account.

 

I have multiple MS accounts that do not use MS email addresses and one of them, uses a Gmail alias.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Muzzique

[timendres]

Where does the "click here" link point? I bet it is not Google or Microsoft.

[JayClay]

1 hour ago, BangkokReady said:

????

 

Since the OP has "been using it for almost 15 years", I think it's fairly unlikely that he hasn't used it since he signed up for it.

He's been using his gmail account for 15 years. The email refers to a Microsoft account which uses the gmail address for login.

[Woof999]

2 hours ago, JayClay said:

More than likely not!!!

 

More likely is that the OP signed up for a Microsoft account for some reason or another,  and hasn't used it since!

It is 1000% a scam link. The wording of the email says this.

 

The way they present the date. The way they sign off as "The Microsoft account team" (bad use of capitals), the way that the link is presented in the email and more.

 

If you think this email has even 5% chance of being real, take a free online "spot scams and phishing attempts" course. You'll be able to spot them so much easier afterwards.

[gamb00ler]

14 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

OTL??? - I did Google & it came back with One True Love

Out To Lunch ...... you're not the only AN poster who often scratches his head about what an acronym means ????