Do not trust "American Express Account Has Been Locked" phishing emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on
What kind of email is "American Express Account Has Been Locked"?
Our inspection of the "American Express Account Has Been Locked" email revealed that it is a phishing scam. This mail makes false claims regarding a failed cardless purchase. The aim is to deceive recipients into disclosing their account log-in credentials.
It must be emphasized that this scam email is in no way associated with the real American Express Company.
"American Express Account Has Been Locked" email scam overview
The email with the subject "Action Required: Your account has been locked" states that a cardless payment was declined and that the recipient's American Express account has been blocked. This course of action was taken as a security measure.
The letter encourages to unblock the card/account by downloading the secure attachment and verifying account ownership. The file attached to this fake email is an HTML document used for phishing. This attachment – "Account_SecurePayment_Message.html" (filename may vary) – is presented as a sign-in page for American Express accounts.
Information entered into phishing files/sites is recorded and sent to scammers. Hence, if a user attempts to sign in through this file – they will inadvertently expose their account to cyber criminals. Stolen finance-related accounts can then be used to make fraudulent transactions, online purchases, or other malicious activities.
To summarize, victims of scams like "American Express Account Has Been Locked" can experience severe privacy issues, significant financial losses, and identity theft.
If you have already provided your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support. It may also be necessary to contact the appropriate authorities.
Name | "American Express Account Has Been Locked" phishing email |
Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
Fake Claim | Cardless purchase was declined and the recipient's American Express account was locked. |
Disguise | American Express |
Attachment(s) | Account_SecurePayment_Message.html (filename may vary) |
Detection Names | Combo Cleaner (Trojan.GenericKD.68480389), ESET-NOD32 (HTML/Phishing.Gen), Microsoft (Trojan:Win32/Phonzy.B!ml), Sophos (Troj/Phish-NYV), Symantec (Trojan.Gen.NPE), Full List Of Detections (VirusTotal) |
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. |
Phishing spam campaign examples
We have analyzed countless spam emails; "American Express Merchant Reward", "American Express Credit/Refund Adjustment Message", "American Express Security Team" – are a couple examples of mail targeting American Express log-in credentials, while "You Have Received A Secure Message", "Intuit QuickBooks Encrypted Message", "Server Update Notice", "A File Was Shared With You Via Dropbox" – are some of our latest phishing email finds.
Various scams are promoted through spam mail, and it is utilized in malware distribution. These emails can be plain or elaborately disguised as messages from legitimate companies, organizations, service providers, institutions, authorities, and other entities.
Due to how widespread and potentially well-made spam mail can be, we strongly recommend treating incoming emails and other messages with caution.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam emails/messages can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.
Once an infectious file is opened – the malware download/installation process is jumpstarted. However, some file formats may require additional interaction to initiate infection chains. For example, Microsoft Office documents need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote files require them to click on embedded files or links.
How to avoid installation of malware?
It is paramount to exercise caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. We advise against opening attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious. We recommend using post-2010 Microsoft Office versions since they have the "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic macro execution.
It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam mail. Therefore, we also advise being careful while browsing since fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless.
Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update programs by using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters may contain malware.
We must stress the importance of having a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This software must be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats and 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 "American Express Account Has Been Locked" spam email letter:
Subject: Action Required: Your account has been locked
Cardless Purchase Declined
American Express
Dear Card Member
Account ending: ****
Your account has been locked
A recent cardless purchase you made has been declined, For your own protection A hold has been put on your card account. Please review your infomation as stated on file to unlock card
Kindly, download the secure attachment to verify account ownership.
You can always view your account online
Check your spending power, make a payment, and more
View your account online
Screenshot of the phishing file attached to this email ("Account_SecurePayment_Message.html"):
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Quick menu:
- What is "American Express Account Has Been Locked" 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?
Cyber criminals distribute spam mail in massive campaigns, hoping that at least some of the thousands of recipients will fall for the scams.
I have provided my personal information when tricked by this spam email, what should I do?
If you have disclosed your accounts credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. And if you've provided other private information (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the corresponding authorities.
I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?
Devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened; reading an email is not enough to trigger these processes.
I have downloaded and opened a file attached to a spam email, is my computer infected?
If the open file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the system was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). These formats may need extra interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to start downloading/installing malware.
Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?
Yes, Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and remove all manner of threats. It can eliminate practically all known malware infections. Note that performing a complete system scan is crucial since high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems.
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