Phishers steal Hotmail users' details, share them online

Microsoft has confirmed that more than 10,000 Hotmail customers, mainly based in Europe, had their usernames and passwords compromised during a phishing attack.

The accounts targeted are believed to have been on users with names beginning with A and B. The details were then anonymously posted on pastebin.com – a site used by developers to share codes.

Tech blog Neowin reported the customer details have since been deleted from the site. Neowin said it appeared only accounts used to access Microsoft’s Windows Live Hotmail had been compromised.

Microsoft has been alerted to the problem. Windows Live Hotmail users are urged to change their passwords and security question immediately, even if you are not living in Europe and your username does not start with A or B.