Phishing Scheme Nets ‘Enormous Haul’ of Hotmail Passwords, N.Y. Times Says

Got a Hotmail account? This is a good time to change your password, recommends the Gadgetwise blog of the New York Times.

Microsoft has confirmed the validity of a list posted on pastebin.com recently of log-in information for 10,000 e-mail accounts on Hotmail that begin with the letters A and B. And that, the article says, may be only part of an "enormous haul" of Hotmail passwords apparently obtained from account-holders who were tricked into providing the information through a phishing scheme.

Although most of the Hotmail accounts affected seem to be based in Europe, according to a Neowin post on which the Times blog relies, it can't hurt to change both your password and security question, as a precaution, the website notes.

Microsoft also recommends that "extreme caution" be used when opening attachments and links, even if the e-mail in which they are contained seemingly is from a trusted individual.

Related coverage:

Sky News: "Password Scam Widens To Google, Yahoo"

Updated on Oct. 6 to link to subsequent Sky News article.