According to this email, which purports to be from AOL, you recently made a request to shut down your email account. The message claims that the request will be processed shortly.
But, claims the message, if you did not make the request, you can click a “cancel de-activation” link to stop the impending account shut down.
However, the email is not from AOL and the claim that your account is about to be shut down is a lie. Instead, the email is a phishing scam designed to steal your AOL account login details.
Here’s what the scam email looks like:
If you click the”cancel de-activation” link, you will be taken to a form hosted on Microsoft’s online file storage service OneDrive.
The form asks you to login by entering your account username and password.
Here’s a screenshot of the AOL fake login form:
If you enter your account login details and hit the “Submit” button, you’ll see a final message claiming that your response was received.
Here’s a screenshot of the fake “response received” web page:
Unfortunately, the people who actually receive your response are criminals who will use your login details to hijack your real AOL account. Once they have gained access, they can steal any information you have stored in your account and use it to send further spam and scam campaigns in your name. They may also be able to access any services that are linked to the same account.
Phishing scams like this continue to be very common and target users of many companies and online service providers. It is always safest to login to all of your online accounts by entering the account address into your browser’s address bar or via a trusted app.
Original Source : https://www.hoax-slayer.net/aol-cancel-deactivation-phishing-scam-email/