Avoid being scammed by "Email Security Alert" messages

What is the "Email Security Alert" message?

"Email Security Alert" refers to the subjects/titles of deceptive emails. These messages claim that recipients must update their email account security. The link users are to click to update their accounts redirects to a phishing website designed to steal email account passwords, thereby gaining access to the accounts.

Note that all of the information provided by "Email Security Alert" scam messages is false.

The "Email Security Alert" scam emails state that, due to recent security database upgrades, recipients must update their email account security. The link presented in these messages ("CLICK HERE TO UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SECURITY NOW") redirects to phishing website, disguised as an email account log-in page.

Any log-in credentials (i.e. passwords) entered into this site are exposed to the scammers behind the deceptive messages. Scammers are particularly interested in email accounts, as they are often associated with others.

Platforms of interest include (but are not limited to): social media, social networking, communication, data storage and transferring, e-commerce (online store), digital wallet and banking accounts. To elaborate on how they can be used, on hijacked social/communication accounts, scammers can ask contacts/friends for loans and/or spread malware (by sharing infectious files) under the guise of the genuine owner.

Additionally, should sensitive/compromising content be found within any accounts, it can be held for ransom, under threat of publication and/or sale to the victims' competitors. Accounts that directly deal with finances and/or store related information, can be used to make fraudulent monetary transactions and/or online purchases.

To summarize, by trusting the "Email Security Alert" scam messages, users might experience serious privacy issues, financial loss and even identity theft. If attempts to log-in through the phishing website have already been made, you are strongly advised to change the passwords of the compromised email and those of associated accounts.

Furthermore, you are advised to contact the official support of potentially exposed accounts.

Threat Summary:

Name	Email Security Alert Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Scam emails claim recipients need to update their email accounts
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.
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The term "spam campaign" is used to define a large-scale operation, during which thousands of deceptive/scam emails are sent. "Email verification", "Message attachments were delayed", "Deactivating All Inactive Accounts", and "Account Access Disabled" are some examples of other spam campaigns similar to "Email Security Alert".

Note that these messages target various accounts and other sensitive/personal information, not just emails. Other uses of spam campaigns include a wide variety of scams and malware (e.g. Trojan, ransomware, etc.) proliferation.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Systems are infected via malicious files distributed through spam campaigns. These files can be attached and/or linked inside the emails. Infectious files can be in various formats (e.g. Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archive and executable files, JavaScript, etc.).

When these files are executed, run or otherwise opened, the infection process (i.e. malware download/installation) is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents (e.g. "Invoice_24077.xlsb") cause infections by executing malicious macro commands.

In Microsoft Office versions released prior to 2010, malware download/installation begins when an infectious document is opened, however, newer versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macros. Instead, users are asked to enable macro commands (i.e., to enable editing/content) and hence infection processes can only be started by manually enabling macros.

How to avoid installation of malware?

To avoid malware spread via spam mail, you are strongly advised against opening suspicious or irrelevant emails, especially those with any attachments or links present within them.

Additionally, use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010. Malicious programs also proliferate through untrusted download channels (e.g. unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders), illegal software activation ("cracking") tools, and fake updaters.

Therefore, only download from official/verified sources and activate and update software with tools/functions provided by legitimate developers.

To ensure device integrity and user privacy, have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and kept updated. Furthermore, use these programs to run regular system scans and to remove detected/potential threats.

If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Email Security Alert" scam message:

Subject: Email Security Alert

 

Attention ********,

 

Due to our recent security database upgrade, ******** user must update their email account security.

 

You must complete this process immediatley to avoid losing your email account with us.

 

CLICK HERE TO UPDATE YOUR EMAIL SECURITY NOW

 

********  Administrator
This is an autmomated email sent from our email severs to let you know about important changes.©2020 Cyber security dept. Mountain View.

 Screenshot of the phishing website, promoted by the "Email Security Alert" scam:

Another phishing website promoted via this email:

Yet another example of Email Security Alert-themed spam promoting a phishing site:

Text presented within:

Subject: RE:Someone from an unrecognized location tried logging into your e-Mail few minutes ago.

 
Email Security Alert
for - Account User:admin

This is to notify you that someone from an unrecognized location tried logging into your e-Mail few minutes ago.
Was this done by you?

For your account security, we strongly recommend that you verify your account now, else you account will be blocked without further notice.

Click here to Verify your E-mail account now

After verification, extra security features will be activated in your email settings and your account will be safe for use again.

Source: Email Security Team

Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:

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Quick menu:

• What is Email Security Alert spam?
• 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.

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