Fraudsters send fake emails or set up fake websites that mimic Yahoo!'s sign-in pages (or the sign-in pages of other trusted companies, such as eBay or PayPal) to trick you into disclosing your user name and password. This practice is sometimes referred to as "phishing"—a play on the word "fishing"—because the fraudster is "fishing" for your private account information.
Typically, fraudsters try to trick you into providing your user name and password so that they can gain access to your online account. After they steal your password, they can change your password and lock you out of your online account. They can read your email or access other personal information through your Yahoo! account. If they find the right personal information, they can commit identity theft, including using your credit cards or withdrawing money from your bank accounts.
We encourage you to go to the Yahoo! Security Center to learn more about phishing, how to identify phishing websites or emails, and how to set up a sign-in seal to avoid being caught.
If you've received an email claiming to be from Yahoo! that asks for your password or other private information, you've likely received a “phishing" email.” These emails typically contain links that appear to go to a Yahoo! site but actually link to a fake, or "spoofed" Yahoo! site.
Here's what to do about it:
- Report the email to Yahoo!. We want to know what you've received so we can investigate.
- Don't click any links on the email if you are uncertain about any "official" email you've received. The safest way to visit a website listed in the email is to type the site's address directly in the address bar of your web browser. You can learn more about how to identity a phishing website in the Yahoo! Security Center.
- Be confident about Yahoo!. You can be sure that no Yahoo! employee will ever ask you for your password or personal information in an unsolicited phone call or email message.
To report a phishing website, please use the Yahoo! Security Phishing Report Form. You can also report instant messages received with links to phishing websites here.
To report a phishing email, please forward the email to phishing@cc.yahoo-inc.com.
You can learn more about phishing at the Yahoo! Security Center.
Advance fee fraud scams, sometimes referred to as 'Nigerian 419' scams, promise to share riches in exchange for loans to help cover some sort of upfront cost, such as bank fees, or in some cases, ransoms for “kidnapped” millionaires. If you receive one of these emails, mark it as spam, including any messages that originate from a yahoo.com email address. These emails are usually sent in bulk, and are rarely targeted at a specific individual. Yahoo cannot investigate these scams; reporting these emails as spam is the most effective measure you can take as it will help ensure additional copies are not delivered.
To learn more about advance fee fraud scams, please visit:
A sign-in seal is a secret message or image that you select to help protect your account from fraud such as password phishing.
When you create a sign-in seal for your computer, you can be sure you're on a legitimate Yahoo! site each time you use your computer to sign in to Yahoo!. You’ll see the text or image you set up on your computer. If it's not there, you might have landed on a "spoofed" site.
Your sign-in seal is saved on the computer you created it on. If you log in from a different computer, you won't see the sign-in seal. If you use more than one computer or browser, you can choose to create a sign-in seal for each one.
If you don’t see your sign-in seal on the Sign-In page, the webpage you've opened is probably a fake Yahoo! Sign-In page. If this happens, please report the webpage immediately!
Important: Don't create a sign-in seal on a computer you share with strangers, such as those in libraries, Internet cafes, and other public places.
You can create a sign-in seal so you know you are signing in on a genuine Yahoo! website. When you see your seal, you know you are not giving your password away to a phishing website.
To create a sign-in seal:
- On any Yahoo! sign-in page, click Create your sign-in seal at the top of the "Sign in to Yahoo!" box.
The sign-in seal set-up page appears. - Click Create a text seal or Upload an image.
- Type your secret message or select an image:
If you're creating a message, type up to three lines of text in the spaces provided. Each line can have up to 7 characters. Pick a message that someone else won’t be able to guess. Don't include your Yahoo! ID or password in the message.
If you're using an image, click the Browse button and locate the image on your computer. For tips on choosing an image, see What picture can I use for a sign-in seal? - Click See more colors if you want to choose a background color for your sign-in seal.
- Click Preview to see how your seal will look when it's displayed.
- When you're satisfied with the seal, click Save This Seal.
