The Account Closure Threat

What it looks like

• The email appears to come from a bank, an email provider, a social network or a delivery account.
• It says your account will be suspended, verification is incomplete, or an unusual sign-in was detected.
• There is a large "Verify my account" button, sometimes with a countdown.

How to spot it

• Read the sender's full address. "support@bank-security-alerts.com" is not a bank; a company's mail comes from its own domain.
• Hover over the button on a computer, or press and hold on a phone: the real address appears. If it differs, it is fake.
• "Dear Customer" is a weak signal — but being addressed by name does not make it genuine either.
• Real services do not close your account because you did not reply to an email.

What to do

• Do not tap the button. Open the app or type the site's address yourself and see whether there is a warning waiting for you.
• If something really is wrong, it will also be visible inside the app. If it is not, the email was fake.
• Mark it as phishing and delete it.

If it already happened

• If you entered your password, change it now — and change it everywhere else you used the same one.
• Turn on two-factor authentication. It stops a stolen password from being enough.
• Check the account's list of signed-in devices and remove any you do not recognise.
• If it was your email account, start there: whoever controls your email can reset the password on everything else.

Common questions