How do you verify an MSN (Hotmail) account?

MSN Hotmail Account Alert!!! (E-mail from Hotmail...worried it might be spam, or maybe its real) Pleaaase help?

• This is email from Windows Live Hotmail and we are sending it to you for your safety. Due to the anonymous registration of our account which is causing congestion to our service, so we are shutting down some accounts, and your account was among those to be deleted. So the purpose of this email is for you to verify that you are the owner of this account and you are still using it by filling the information below after clicking on the reply button: Username: Password: Verify Password: Date of Birth: Country Or Territory: After following the instructions in the sheet, your account will not be interrupted and will continue as normal. Thanks for your attention to this request. We apologize for any inconveniences. Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently. Sincerely, The Windows Live Hotmail Team

• Answer:

  That's a message designed to ask you for your personal information, something that you shouldn't give out to scammers or you'll lose your account to them. Don't give it to them at all costs. Here's more information on what I'm saying: "Verify your account." Businesses should not ask you to send passwords, login names, Social Security numbers, or other personal information through e-mail. If you receive an e-mail message from Microsoft asking you to update your credit card information, do not respond: this is a phishing scam. "If you don't respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed." These messages convey a sense of urgency so that you'll respond immediately without thinking. A phishing e-mail message might even claim that your response is required because your account might have been compromised.