How to identify scams like "Your iCloud Photos And Videos Will Be Deleted"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is "Your iCloud Photos And Videos Will Be Deleted"?
This is a scam email masquerading as a notification regarding an iCloud subscription. The scammers behind it seek to deceive recipients by falsely claiming that the renewal of their iCloud storage subscription has encountered issues, leading to the potential deletion of photos and videos. The ultimate objective is to obtain personal information from unsuspecting individuals.
More about the "Your iCloud Photos And Videos Will Be Deleted" scam email
This email claims to be a last alert about the potential deletion of photos, stating that the renewal of the iCloud storage subscription has failed. The message implies that unless the recipient updates their payment information promptly, their photos and videos will be deleted.
It includes a link to "update payment" and provides fabricated details such as a subscription ID, product information, and an expiration date. Clicking the provided link leads to a deceptive site hosting a fake survey. Upon completing that survey, individuals are requested to provide personal information.
The requested details include first and last name, email address, phone number, state, ZIP code, address, city, country, and credit card details (credit card number, expiry date, and CVV code). Scammers can misuse the stolen details to carry out identity theft, financial fraud, and other malicious activities.
The credit card details provide scammers with the means to make unauthorized transactions and engage in fraudulent activities. This information may be used to make online purchases, subscribe to services, or even create duplicate cards for illegal purposes.
Victims could face financial losses, credit score damage, and the time-consuming process of resolving unauthorized transactions. It is crucial for individuals to remain vigilant and refrain from providing sensitive information in response to unsolicited requests to prevent falling victim to such scams.
| Name | Your iCloud Photos And Videos Will Be Deleted Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | The renewal of the iCloud storage subscription has failed. |
| Disguise | Notification regarding iCloud storage |
| Related Domain | skystarsfavouritetra4ffic[.]top |
| Detection Names | alphaMountain.ai (Phishing), Combo Cleaner (Phishing), CyRadar (Malicious), Fortinet (Phishing), G-Data (Phishing), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| Symptoms | Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer. |
| Distribution methods | Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains. |
| Damage | Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft. |
| Malware Removal (Windows) | To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. |
Similar scam emails in general
Emails of this kind typically share common characteristics that raise suspicion. They often employ urgent language, threatening consequences if immediate action is not taken, creating a sense of panic. Additionally, these emails commonly contain links or prompts requesting sensitive information such as credit card details, passwords, or personal information.
Phishing emails also tend to mimic trusted entities like banks, government agencies, or popular online services, using official-looking logos and email formats to deceive recipients. It is important to be aware that links and attachments presented in such emails can be utilized to deliver malware.
Examples of phishing emails are "Mailbox Password Security Update", "SharePoint Settlement Agreement", and "DHL Agreement Documents".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
In these schemes, cybercriminals craft deceptive emails that appear legitimate, often mimicking trusted entities such as banks or reputable services. These emails contain malicious links or attachments, and when recipients click or open them, malware is downloaded onto their computers.
Typically, computers become infected when users activate malware by themselves. Malware can be delivered through various files, such as executables (.exe), PDF documents (.pdf), scripts (.js, .vbs), archives (.zip, .rar), shortcuts (.lnk), MS Office files like (.xls, .doc), installer packages (.msi, .dmg), and HTML files (.html, .htm).
How to avoid installation of malware?
Be wary of phishing emails that attempt to deceive you into opening links or attachments. Avoid opening files or links within irrelevant emails from unknown addresses. Keep both the operating system and all installed software up to date by regularly applying security patches and updates.
Install reputable antivirus and anti-malware software to defend against various threats. Avoid clicking on suspicious ads or downloading files from untrusted sources, especially when hosted on shady pages. Use official pages and app stores when willing to download software.
Do not use pirated software or cracking tools. If you've already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.
Text presented in the "Your iCloud Photos And Videos Will Be Deleted" email letter:
Subject: LAST ALERT: ALL YOUR PHOTOS WILL BE DELETED!
iCloud
Failed to attempt payment when renewing your
Cloud storage subscription
0 GB 48.9GB /50 GBWe failed to renew your iCloud storage
Your photos and videos will be deleted!!Your payment method has expired: Update
your payment information!
If you don't have enough iCloud space, you can upgrade storage planFULL
Details of the order:
Subscription ID : 7708653
Product: iCloud space
Expiration date: 23 October 2023Without icloud space, you may not be able to store all your data and files in iCloud Sync Service provided by Apple which allows users to store their data, such as photos, videos, documents and more on Apple servers and you can access them from any user device
Update my payment
The iCloud-team
The iCloud Team iCloud is a service provided by Apple.Unsubscribe
Copyright 2023
The advertiser does not manage your subscription.
The advertiser does not manage your subscription. here
or write to: 6101 Long Prairie Rd,Ste 744 #511, Flower Mound, TX, 75028
The appearance of the phishing page presented in this email (GIF):
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Your iCloud Photos And Videos Will Be Deleted phishing campaign?
- Types of malicious emails.
- How to spot a malicious email?
- What to do if you fell for an email scam?
Types of malicious emails:
Phishing Emails
Most commonly, cybercriminals use deceptive emails to trick Internet users into giving away their sensitive private information, for example, login information for various online services, email accounts, or online banking information.
Such attacks are called phishing. In a phishing attack, cybercriminals usually send an email message with some popular service logo (for example, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon, Netflix), create urgency (wrong shipping address, expired password, etc.), and place a link which they hope their potential victims will click on.
After clicking the link presented in such email message, victims are redirected to a fake website that looks identical or extremely similar to the original one. Victims are then asked to enter their password, credit card details, or some other information that gets stolen by cybercriminals.
Emails with Malicious Attachments
Another popular attack vector is email spam with malicious attachments that infect users' computers with malware. Malicious attachments usually carry trojans that are capable of stealing passwords, banking information, and other sensitive information.
In such attacks, cybercriminals' main goal is to trick their potential victims into opening an infected email attachment. To achieve this goal, email messages usually talk about recently received invoices, faxes, or voice messages.
If a potential victim falls for the lure and opens the attachment, their computers get infected, and cybercriminals can collect a lot of sensitive information.
While it's a more complicated method to steal personal information (spam filters and antivirus programs usually detect such attempts), if successful, cybercriminals can get a much wider array of data and can collect information for a long period of time.
Sextortion Emails
This is a type of phishing. In this case, users receive an email claiming that a cybercriminal could access the webcam of the potential victim and has a video recording of one's masturbation.
To get rid of the video, victims are asked to pay a ransom (usually using Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency). Nevertheless, all of these claims are false - users who receive such emails should ignore and delete them.
How to spot a malicious email?
While cyber criminals try to make their lure emails look trustworthy, here are some things that you should look for when trying to spot a phishing email:
- Check the sender's ("from") email address: Hover your mouse over the "from" address and check if it's legitimate. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft, be sure to check if the email address is @microsoft.com and not something suspicious like @m1crosoft.com, @microsfot.com, @account-security-noreply.com, etc.
- Check for generic greetings: If the greeting in the email is "Dear user", "Dear @youremail.com", "Dear valued customer", this should raise suspiciousness. Most commonly, companies call you by your name. Lack of this information could signal a phishing attempt.
- Check the links in the email: Hover your mouse over the link presented in the email, if the link that appears seems suspicious, don't click it. For example, if you received an email from Microsoft and the link in the email shows that it will go to firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0... you shouldn't trust it. It's best not to click any links in the emails but to visit the company website that sent you the email in the first place.
- Don't blindly trust email attachments: Most commonly, legitimate companies will ask you to log in to their website and to view any documents there; if you received an email with an attachment, it's a good idea to scan it with an antivirus application. Infected email attachments are a common attack vector used by cybercriminals.
To minimise the risk of opening phishing and malicious emails we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
Example of a spam email:
What to do if you fell for an email scam?
- If you clicked on a link in a phishing email and entered your password - be sure to change your password as soon as possible. Usually, cybercriminals collect stolen credentials and then sell them to other groups that use them for malicious purposes. If you change your password in a timely manner, there's a chance that criminals won't have enough time to do any damage.
- If you entered your credit card information - contact your bank as soon as possible and explain the situation. There's a good chance that you will need to cancel your compromised credit card and get a new one.
- If you see any signs of identity theft - you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission. This institution will collect information about your situation and create a personal recovery plan.
- If you opened a malicious attachment - your computer is probably infected, you should scan it with a reputable antivirus application. For this purpose, we recommend using Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows.
- Help other Internet users - report phishing emails to Anti-Phishing Working Group, FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, National Fraud Information Center and U.S. Department of Justice.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Why did I receive this email?
Scammers obtain email addresses through data breaches, purchase lists on the dark web, or use automated tools to generate random addresses. Once they have a list, scammers deploy mass-emailing techniques, sending deceptive messages to a large number of recipients. Their emails are not personal.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
If you have provided your credit card details and other sensitive information to scammers, take immediate action: contact your bank to report the incident, monitor your accounts for unauthorized transactions, and consider reporting the scam to local authorities.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
Your computer may be infected if you have opened a malicious file attached to an email, but the extent of the infection depends on the file type. For instance, an executable (e.g., .exe) file poses a higher risk of infecting your computer with malware. On the other hand, certain document files (e.g., MS Office documents) do not infect computers unless users enable macros commands.
I have read the email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Merely opening an email is safe. The potential harm comes from clicking links or opening attachments within the email, which can result in system infections.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner has the capability to identify and eliminate nearly all known malware infections. It's essential to note that sophisticated malware often conceals itself deeply within the system, necessitating a full system scan for detection and removal.
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