Hotmail accounts hit by ‘phishing’
Tuesday 6th October 2009, 8:55AM BST.
More than 10,000 Hotmail passwords have been hacked and posted online, a technology website has reported, but Microsoft, which owns the e-mail service, has not yet been able to confirm the report.
The firm says it is “actively investigating the situation”.
Technology blog neowin.net reported that an anonymous user had posted the details of Windows Live Hotmail accounts on paste bin.com, a site used by developers to share code, on October 1.
Neowin administrator Tom Warren wrote on the blog: “The details have since been removed but Neowin has seen part of the list posted and can confirm the accounts are genuine and most appear to be based in Europe.
“The list details over 10,000 accounts starting from A through to B, suggesting there could be additional lists. Currently it appears only accounts used to access Microsoft’s Windows Live Hotmail have been posted, this includes @hotmail.com, @msn.com and @live.com accounts.”
The blog suggested the details were obtained through a hack or “phishing” scam.
A Microsoft spokesman said: “Microsoft has been made aware of the claims that Windows Live IDs and passwords have been made available on the web. We’re actively investigating the situation.”
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