Possible Scam

Question

I was just invited to a Teams interview. I received an email with a link:

When I clicked on the link, it brought me to this screen:

I have recently updated my teams version from the Microsoft website. As such, I'm thinking this is a potential scam? Can you please advise?

Thanks!

Answer 1

This behavior matches common phishing patterns and should be treated as a scam attempt.

Key red flags based on Microsoft guidance:

1. The link in the browser address bar is not a standard Microsoft domain. Official Microsoft support and services use domains such as microsoft.com, microsoftsupport.com, mail.support.microsoft.com, office365support.com, or techsupport.microsoft.com for support-related communication, and other well-known Microsoft-owned domains for products. A non‑Microsoft domain that only visually imitates a Microsoft Store or Teams page is a strong phishing indicator.
2. Phishing sites often mimic legitimate Microsoft pages (for example, a fake Microsoft Store or Teams download) to trick users into installing malware or entering credentials.
3. Microsoft explicitly warns that scammers use fake websites and links that look like real company pages to steal information or install malicious software.

Recommended actions:

1. Do not click any buttons on that page, do not download or install anything from it, and do not enter any credentials or personal information.
2. Close the suspicious browser tab immediately.
3. Access Microsoft Teams only via trusted paths:
   • Open Teams from the Start menu or installed apps if already installed.
   • Or, manually type https://www.microsoft.com or https://teams.microsoft.com into the browser address bar (do not reuse the link from the email) and sign in there.
4. Treat the original email as suspicious:
   • Do not reply to it.
   • Do not click any other links or open attachments from that message.
   • Report it as phishing in Outlook using Report > Report phishing, or submit it to Microsoft as described in the phishing guidance.
5. If anything was downloaded or installed from that site, run a full antivirus scan and consider contacting a trusted IT professional.

If the interview itself might be legitimate, contact the company using contact details from its official website or from a trusted job posting, not from the email that contained the suspicious link.

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References:

• Protect yourself from phishing
• How to determine if an email from Microsoft support is genuine
• Security and Microsoft Teams
• Protect yourself from online scams and attacks
• How to report a phishing scam