Avoid losing your account and NFTs via fake "OpenSea" emails

What is the "OpenSea" scam email?

The "OpenSea email scam" refers to a phishing spam campaign targeting OpenSea - NFT (Non-Fungible Token) marketplace accounts. These fake letters lure recipients into disclosing their account log-in credentials by claiming that they need to move their listings to avoid their expiration and additional fees. According to the news available online, this phishing scam has already resulted in million-dollar losses for OpenSea users.

"OpenSea" email scam overview

The scam email sample our researchers inspected had the subject "Migrate Your Ethereum Listings Starting Today". The analyzed letter stated that recipients must migrate their Ethereum (cryptocurrency) listings to a new "smart contract" - else they risk the listings, as well as any standing offers, expiring. Should users fail to move the listings within the given timeframe, the spam email warns that re-listing them will require paying additional fees.

This spam mail aims to extract OpenSea user account credentials and steal the NFTs stored therein. If you have already fallen victim to this scam, we recommend changing the passwords/passphrases of all potentially exposed accounts and contacting their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	OpenSea phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	OpenSea users must migrate their listings to avoid expiration and additional fees.
Disguise	Notifications from OpenSea.
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. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Spam campaigns in general

"Important Update From Mail Server Registrar", "Removal From Server Has Been Approved And Initiated", and "Notification Of DHL Shipment" are just a few examples of the phishing emails we have analyzed.

These letters are usually disguised as important or urgent; they are often presented as notifications from legitimate organizations, authorities, companies, service providers, etc. Furthermore, with the rise in popularity of digital currencies (e.g., cryptocurrencies, NFTs, etc.), scams centered on them have become quite common.

In addition to phishing and other scams, spam mail is also used to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, etc.). Therefore, we strongly advise exercising caution with incoming emails and messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails can contain infectious files as attachments or download links. The files can be executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), PDF and Microsoft Office documents, JavaScript, and so on. When such a file is executed, run, or otherwise opened - malware download/installation is initiated.

For example, when MS documents are opened in Microsoft Office versions released prior to 2010 - they execute malicious macro commands, thus jumpstarting the infection process. Later versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution; instead, users can manually enable them (i.e., editing/content). It is noteworthy that most infectious documents contain messages designed to trick users into enabling macros.

How to avoid installation of malware?

The attachments and links found in suspicious/irrelevant emails must not be opened, as they can contain malicious software. Additionally, we recommend using Microsoft Office versions released after 2010.

However, cyber criminals distribute malware using various techniques. Therefore, we also advise downloading only from official and verified channels. Furthermore, programs must be activated and updated with legitimate tools obtained from official sources, since those obtained from third-parties may contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "OpenSea" scam email letter:

Subject: Migrate Your Ethereum Listings Starting Today

OpenSea | Community Update

Hi there,

You can now migrate your Ethereum listings to the new smart contract today (gas free).

[Get Started]

You have until 2 pm ET on Friday, February 25 to migrate your listings. After that time, any listings you haven't migrated will expire. All existing offers will also expire at that time.

If you don't migrate your listings by February 25, you will still be able to re-list your expired listings after that period without incurring any additional fees (including gas fees).

For more on why we're upgrading to a contract and how to get help migrating your listings, visit our help center.

Thank you,
The OpenSea Team

Privacy policy | Terms of service

Another example of OpenSea-themed spam email promoting an NFT scam:

Text presented within:

Subject: OpenSea Give Away NFT Drop

Opensea Give Away NFTdrop

OpenSea
The world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Buy, sell, and discover exclusive digital items
Claim YOUR free nftdrop

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is OpenSea phishing email?
• 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?

Spam emails are not personal. Cyber criminals send these letters by the thousand with the hopes that at least some of the recipients will fall for their scams.

I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?

If you have disclosed account credentials - immediately change the passwords/passphrases of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. And if you have provided other private data (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) - contact the relevant authorities without delay.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No, merely reading a spam email will not initiate any system infection processes. Malware is proliferated via the attachments and links (leading to malicious websites) that are included in such letters.

I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?

Whether an infection was triggered by opening a file - depends on its format. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) - most likely, yes - your system was infected. However, document formats (.doc, .xls, .pdf, etc.) may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, etc.) - to begin downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate nearly all of the known malware infections. However, it must be stressed that performing a full system scan is crucial - as high-end malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.

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