How to spot scam emails like "Mail Server Update"

What kind email is "Mail Server Update"?

Our team examined this email and learned that scammers sent it. The purpose of this letter is to trick unsuspecting recipients into entering personal information on a phishing website (fake login page). This email is disguised as a letter from an email service provider. It should be marked as spam and deleted.

More about the "Mail Server Update" scam email

Scammers behind this letter aim to trick recipients into believing that their email service provider has encountered an issue while resolving email server updates that affected their email accounts. They instruct recipients to click the "RESOLVE UPDATE ISSUE" button to resolve the issue (and improve user experience and security and fix bugs).

The "RESOLVE UPDATE ISSUE" button in this email opens a deceptive website (fake login site) designed to extract email addresses and passwords. Scammers use it to steal login credentials. Entered information can be used to steal email accounts and other accounts that can be accessed with the same login information.

Threat Summary:

Name	Mail Server Update Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email account has been affected by an issue with the email server.
Disguise	Letter from an email service provider
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.

Similar scam emails in general

Scammers behind phishing emails ask recipients to provide personal information directly via email or a phishing website. They aim to extract credit card details, passwords, ID card information, social security numbers, or other personal information. Usually, they pretend to be legitimate entities (e.g., companies or organizations).

Examples of phishing emails are "Annual Email Version Upgrade Email Scam", "YоuTubе Suppоrt Shared An Item Email Scam", and "FIFTH THIRD BANK Email Scam". Emails can also be used to trick recipients into infecting their computers.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Emails used to deliver malware are quite similar to phishing emails. However, they contain malicious links or attachments. Recipients infect computers via those links or files by opening them. Not all files infect computers right after being opened. For example, malicious MS Office documents do not infect computers until users enable macros commands.

Examples of other files that threat actors use to distribute malware are executables, archives (like ZIP and RAR), ISO files, PDF documents, and JavaScript files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be careful with emails containing attachments or links. Examine emails before opening their contents (especially when emails are irrelevant and sent from unknown addresses). Avoid downloads from shady pages, third-party downloaders, P2P networks, etc. Download software from reliable sources such as official pages and legitimate stores.

Keep the operating system updated (the same applies to installed programs). Scan your computer for threats regularly. 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 "Mail Server Update" email letter:

Subject: ******** server update5368

TO: ********

We encountered an issue earlier today why resolving ******** mail server update and it affected a portion of your account

Kindly resolve the issue below to rectify the underlying problem and you will be up and running again

RESOLVE UPDATE ISSUE

NOTE:

1. No email will be lost during this time
2. Improves user experience
3. More secured and Fast
4. Bug fixes

Thanks
Admin ********
2022 ******** SERVER UPDATE

Screenshot of the phishing website included in this scam email:

Another example of email server update-themed spam promoting a phishing site:

Text presented within:

Subject: New 2023 ServerUpdate 01200

Note: Secure - 2023

Dear -

This is a server update for your Email...

UPDATE EMAIL

Screenshot of the promoted phishing site designed to imitate user's email service provider:

Instant automatic malware removal: Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:
▼ 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 Mail Server Update 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?

The same email was sent to all recipients. It is uncommon for phishing emails to be personal.

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

If you entered your password (and email address) on a phishing page provided in this email, change your passwords as soon as possible. Especially if more than one account can be accessed with the stolen login information.

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

Not all files infect computers after they are opened. For instance, malicious MS Office documents do not infect computers until macros commands are enabled and archives (like ZIP, RAR, etc.) cannot cause harm until malicious files are extracted and executed. However, executables usually infect computers after they are opened. Thus, it depends on the file that was downloaded and opened.

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

It is safe to open emails even when they include malicious attachments or website links.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove almost all known malware. It is recommended to scan computers using a full scan. High-end malware can be designed to hide deep in the operating system. Thus, running a quick scan is not enough to detect it.

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