Phishing scam targets those still using AOL email addresses

There are many demographics that Internet scammers want to reach out to more than most. Elderly people. Vulnerable people. And people who aren’t particularly tech savvy. And if you fit into all of those demographics, you’re a prime target for crooks.

A recent email scam is attempting to target those demographics by launching a phishing attack specifically against users of the archaic AOL free web based email.

AOL, originally known as America Online, was one of the big players in the early days of the Internet, and one of the most popular dial-up Internet providers. But as the Internet progressed and surfers switched to super-fast broadband speeds, AOL’s popularity declined. That also included its email service as most people migrated to newer services like Google’s GMail and Microsoft’s Hotmail (now Outlook.)

But some people do still use AOL email addresses, either because they don’t know how to migrate to other services or aren’t interested in doing so. While certainly not exclusively, it’s a fair assumption that many that still use AOL email addresses are of the older generations.

And the crooks are hedging their bets that this pool of potential targets may prove lucrative. A recent phishing scam targeting AOL addresses warns recipients that their AOL email will need to be “re-activated” else face a permanent closure. The email, which read “We don’t want to say goodbye!” includes a link the recipient must click on to re-activate their account and keep their AOL address safe.

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But beware; this is a classic phishing scam. The link leads to a spoof webpage asking the visitor to enter their AOL password and username. But this is a spoof webpage controlled by the scammers, and any information submitted on this page is sent straight to the crooks who can use that information to take over the email account.

To avoid these scams, remember that phishing scams work by luring you (or alarming you) into clicking a link in an email or chat message, so always try to avoid doing this. If you do click such a link, check the web address at the top of the page to see if you’re on the website you should be on.

Remember that cyber crooks can easily spoof the sender details of an email or message, meaning they can pretend to be anyone. Just because an email appears to come from AOL, it doesn’t mean it does.

For more information on phishing scams and tips on avoiding them, see our post here.