Avoid losing your account via fake Blockchain.com "Verify Your Account" emails

What kind of email is "Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account"?

After inspecting the "Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" email, we determined that it is fake. This spam letter states that a suspicious sign-in has been observed on the recipient's Blockchain.com account and requires them to verify their device. The goal of this scam mail is to extract users' account log-in credentials through a phishing website.

It must be emphasized that this email is in no way associated with the actual Blockchain.com cryptocurrency financial services company.

"Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" email scam overview

The email with the subject "YOUR ACCOUNT NEED ATTENTION 04/22/2023" (may vary, particularly the date) is presented as an email from Blockchain.com. The spam letter states that a suspect sign-in was noted, and it lists this fake activity's details. If the recipient recognizes this sign-in, they are to confirm it by verifying their account.

Once we clicked the "Confirm device" button, it resulted in a redirect to a phishing website. This site closely imitated the genuine Blockchain.com log-in page, apart from the banner at the top that warns the user to check the URL for safety purposes. It must be stressed that this spam email is not associated with the real Blockchain.com.

Phishing scams are designed to extract sensitive information. The log-in credentials (i.e., Wallet ID and corresponding password) entered into the promoted site will be disclosed to the cyber criminals behind this spam campaign. Therefore, victims of this scam can have their Blockchain.com accounts and the stored cryptocurrency stolen.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" – users can experience severe privacy issues and significant financial losses.

If you have already entered your log-in credentials into a phishing website – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Suspicious sign-in was detected on recipient's Blockchain.com account.
Disguise	Blockchain.com
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

We have inspected thousands of spam emails; "Email Verification Alert", "Fill The Sars", and "Your Bitcoin Wallet Has Been Credited" are merely a few examples of ones used for phishing.

Various scams are facilitated through these letters, and they are even used to distribute malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, etc.). Spam emails can wear a wide variety of disguises, including as messages from legitimate service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, authorities, and other entities.

Due to how prevalent and well-crafted this mail can be, we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam emails can have malicious files attached to or linked inside them. These files come in various formats, e.g., archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

When an infectious file is executed, run, or otherwise opened – the infection chain (i.e., malware download/installation) is initiated. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands, while virulent OneNote files require users to click on embedded content.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly advise approaching incoming emails and other messages with care. The attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be infectious. It is important to use post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro command execution.

Since malware is not spread exclusively via spam mail, we also recommend being vigilant while browsing – as fake and malicious online content usually appears ordinary and harmless.

Furthermore, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation tools ("cracks") and third-party updaters can contain malware.

It is paramount to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 the "Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" spam email letter:

Subject: YOUR ACCOUNT NEED ATTENTION 04/22/2023

Blockchain.com
 
Verify your device
We noticed a login attempt recently. Confirm the details below. If this was you, verify your device.

Confirm device

Date
Tue, April 22, 2023

 

Login IP
87.81.136.71

 

Approximate location
United States

 

Device type
Android

 

Thanks,

The Blockchain Team

AppStore
PlayStore

© Blockchain.com
1648574176448

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Blockchain.com - Verify Your Account" 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 distribute them in large-scale campaigns – hence, 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 provided your account credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if the disclosed information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant authorities.

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

No, merely reading an email will not trigger any malware download/installation chains. Devices are infected when malicious attachments/links are opened.

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. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes. However, you may have avoided this if it was a document (.pdf, .doc, .xls, .one, etc.). These formats might need additional user interaction (e.g., clicking on embedded files/links, enabling macro commands, etc.) – to begin malware download/installation processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and eliminating most of the known malware infections. It must be mentioned that performing a complete system scan is crucial – since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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