Do not trust "A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received" email

What kind of email is "A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received"?

After inspecting "A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received" email, we determined that it operates as a phishing scam. Letters belonging to this campaign target email log-in credentials by falsely claiming that the account is pending deactivation.

"A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received" email scam overview

The spam message with the subject "Security Alert!™ [Verification required]" states that the request to disable the recipient's email account has been received. The fake email claims that the process will be underway shortly and – if not revoked – will result in permanent deactivation.

The scam letter implies that it can be stopped by pressing the "VERIFY ACCOUNT" button. At the time of research, clicking the button presented in the spam email resulted in the redirect to a defunct site. However, it was clearly intended to lead to an active phishing webpage, and this might be rectified in the future.

Typically, emails of this kind promote phishing websites disguised as email account sign-in pages. Some can even convincingly mimic the design of visitors' actual email sign-in websites. By entering their log-in credentials into such webpages – users will expose their accounts.

It must be mentioned that since emails are used to register other content, scammers might be able to steal it as well. Cyber criminals can use finance-related accounts (e.g., online banking, e-commerce, digital wallets, etc.) to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

While hijacked communication accounts (e.g., emails, social networking/media, messengers, forums, etc.) can be used to ask the contacts/friends for loans, spread spam/scams, and distribute malware by sharing malicious links/files – under the guise of the genuine owners.

In summary, by trusting spam emails – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and even identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials to a phishing scam – immediately change the password of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email account deactivation request has been received and will be processed soon.
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.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Session Validation Error", "CFDI Manager Emisión", and "Mailbox Software Update" are just a few examples of phishing emails we have analyzed recently.

Aside from various scams, these letters are used to proliferate trojans, ransomware, and other malware. Spam emails are often disguised as messages from legitimate service providers, companies, corporations, organizations, authorities, and other entities.

Due to how widespread and well-disguised this mail can be – we strongly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails and messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails can spread malware through included malicious attachments or links. Infectious files can be in various formats, e.g., executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, and so on.

When a malicious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the malware download/installation process is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect devices by executing malicious macro commands.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We highly recommend being cautious with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. The attachments and links present in dubious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious and cause system infections. It is important to use post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.

However, malware is not spread exclusively through spam mail. Therefore, we advise downloading only from official and trustworthy sources. Additionally, software must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters can contain malware.

Another recommendation is to be vigilant when browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears ordinary and innocuous.

We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats/issues. 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 "A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received" spam email letter:

Subject: Security Alert!™ [Verification required]

This message is sent from a trusted sender   

 

Dear ********

A request to disable your ******** has been received and this request will be processed shortly.
Please do not send the request again!

VERIFY ACCOUNT

Continuing to use this account
Ignorance will lead to permanent invalidation of your account  .

******** Administrator
! ©     2022 All rights reserved.

Virus-free.  www.avast.com

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Quick menu:

• What is "A Request To Disable Your Email Has Been Received" 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, and thousands of users receive identical messages.

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

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you have provided other private information (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

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

Systems are infected when malicious attachments or links found in spam mail are opened/clicked. Hence, merely reading an email is harmless.

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

Whether your device was infected might depend on the opened file's format. Executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. However, documents (.doc, .xls, etc.) may need additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands) to start downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate practically all known malware infections. However, running a full system scan is essential – since sophisticated malicious software typically hides deep within systems.

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