Hotmail, Gmail and possibly AOL and Yahoo E-Mail account holders have had there passwords hacked from the above services. Microsoft and Google said the compromised information likely came as a result of a phishing scam, through which millions of people are sent e-mail (often warnings about a fake security breach), asking them to click on a link to take them to a Web site so that they can enter their correct information.

Phishing scams have gotten much more sophisticated in the last few years and the fake sites look just like the real ones. The best defence is to type the url you want to go to manually, run anti phishing software that now comes with most security suites and anti-virus programs, and NEVER NEVER enter your Social Security, bank or credit card numbers on any website unless you are absolutely sure that you are on the legit site.

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