How to spot phishing campaigns like "Webmail Password Center"
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of scam is "Webmail Password Center"?
Upon careful analysis of this email, our team has concluded that it is an instance of phishing. The email is designed to deceive recipients by posing as a communication from an email service provider, specifically impersonating Webmail. The primary goal of scammers is to trick unsuspecting individuals into visiting a fraudulent website and divulging their personal information.
More about the "Webmail Password Center" scam email
The phishing email has a subject line requiring verification and appears to be sent from the "Webmail Password Center". The email claims that the recipient's email password is scheduled to be changed and requests action to validate it to continue. It offers the option to keep the current password by selecting "Keep Same Password".
The email includes a statement indicating it was sent to a specific recipient. The intention behind this phishing email is to trick recipients into accessing a fake website and entering their personal information. Clicking the "Keep Same Password" button opens a fake sign-in website.
The page opened via that link requests visitors to enter their email addresses and passwords to sign in. In other words, it is created by scammers who aim to steal login credentials. By obtaining the login credentials, the scammers can illicitly access the victim's email account, granting them unauthorized control.
This unauthorized access enables them to read, delete, or tamper with emails, posing a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive information. The scammers may conduct thorough searches within the compromised email account to extract valuable information, including financial records, personal documents, or login credentials for other platforms.
The acquired data may be exploited by scammers or sold on the dark web, resulting in heightened privacy violations and the potential for significant financial damage. In the event that the victim utilizes identical login credentials for multiple online accounts, scammers may exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to those accounts as well.
| Name | Webmail Password Center Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Your email password is due to be changed |
| Related Domain | q8czw9ehedzpw[.]xyz |
| Detection Names (q8czw9ehedzpw[.]xyz) | Certego (Phishing), Emsisoft (Phishing), ESET (Phishing), Kaspersky (Phishing), Sophos (Malware), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
| 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. |
Similar emails in general
Phishing emails often create a sense of urgency or alarm to prompt recipients into taking immediate action. They may claim that an account has been compromised, payment is overdue, or a security threat needs immediate attention. Also, these emails often spoof legitimate email addresses or use email addresses that appear similar to well-known organizations or individuals.
Typically, these emails request recipients to provide personal information such as passwords, usernames, credit card details, or social security numbers. It is important to know that emails of this kind can be used to trick users into infecting their computers with malware.
Examples of phishing emails are "Payment List By The Board Of Directors", "Apple Mobile Promo Draw Email Scam", and "American Express Security Team Email Scam".
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Malware is commonly distributed through email using various types of harmful files or links embedded in the messages. These files can come in different formats like archives, executables, documents, JavaScript files, and ISO files.
The infection occurs when a user interacts with these files by executing, running, or opening them. For example, malware can be hidden within Microsoft Office documents, which ask for permission to execute harmful macro commands when opened. In other cases, specific actions may be required to activate the malware within the files.
How to avoid installation of malware?
Ensure that your operating system and software are always kept up to date with the latest versions and security patches. Exercise caution when opening email attachments or links, particularly from unfamiliar or suspicious sources. Install reliable antivirus software and ensure it is regularly updated.
Avoid downloading software from untrustworthy sources, and be wary of interacting with pop-ups or advertisements on questionable websites. 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 "Webmail Password Center" email letter:
Subject: NOTE: ********* Verification ( Action Required)
Webmail Password Center!
********* Your e-mail password is due to be changed!
If you wish to keep the current password kindly validated it to continue.
Keep Same Password
This email was sent to: *********
Webmail. • 2023
Screenshot of the phishing website:
Instant automatic malware removal:
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Quick menu:
- What is Webmail Password Center 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?
Scammers distribute the same letter to a large number of recipients, hoping that at least one person will be tricked by their fraudulent tactics. These spam emails are generic and do not contain personalized information, as they aim to target unsuspecting individuals on a mass scale.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this email, what should I do?
Recipients who have provided any account credentials are strongly advised to change all passwords immediately. Moreover, recipients who have disclosed other personal information, such as credit card details or ID card information, must promptly contact the corresponding authorities to report the incident and take necessary measures.
I have downloaded and opened a malicious file attached to an email, is my computer infected?
If the file in question was an executable, there is a strong possibility that your computer might have been infected. However, if the file was a document in formats such as PDF or DOC, there is a chance that you could have avoided the infection. Opening such documents alone is not always enough for malware to infiltrate the system in certain cases.
I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?
No, there is no inherent harm in just opening an email. However, it is important to be aware that the real risk lies in clicking on links within the email or opening attached files, as these actions can potentially lead to system infections.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?
Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware infections. Nevertheless, it is necessary to mention that sophisticated malware often hides deep within the system. Hence, a comprehensive system scan is strongly advised to ensure complete removal.
Outstanding!
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