Avoid losing your account via fake "Failed Login Attempt" emails

What kind of email is "Failed Login Attempt"?

Our examination of the "Failed Login Attempt" email revealed that it is spam. It promotes a phishing scam that targets email log-in credentials. This deceptive message claims that a failed sign-in attempt has been registered on the recipient's account.

"Failed Login Attempt" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "UNUSUAL SIGN-IN ACTIVITY" (may vary) lists the date of an alleged sign-in attempt to the recipient's email account. If the recipient does not recognize this activity, they are urged to change their password.

It must be stressed that the information in this message is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

This spam campaign promotes a phishing website disguised as an email sign-in page. Log-in credentials (passwords) entered into this site are recorded and sent to scammers. Stolen emails can be variously abused, such as for blackmailing victims over sensitive content found therein or to hijack the accounts, platforms, and services registered through them.

Cyber criminals can steal account owners' identities (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, chats, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, endorse scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious links or files.

Furthermore, criminals can use hijacked finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.) to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Failed Login Attempt" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

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

Threat Summary:

Name	"Failed Login Attempt" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Failed sign-in attempt was registered on the recipient's email account.
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

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These emails primarily target log-in credentials, personally identifiable information, and finance-related data. However, this mail is used to promote various scams and to proliferate malware.

While spam messages are often poorly written and riddled with grammatical/spelling mistakes, they can be competently made and even believably disguised as mail from legitimate entities (e.g., service providers, companies, institutions, organizations, etc.).

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns distribute malware via malicious files that can be attached or linked inside these emails/messages. Virulent files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Malware download/installation is initiated once an infectious file is opened. Some file formats need additional user interaction to jumpstart infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click on embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We strongly recommend vigilance with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages. Attachments or links present in suspect/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be malicious.

However, malware is spread using various methods. Therefore, we advise being careful while browsing since the Internet is rife with deceptive and malicious content.

Additionally, all downloads must be performed from official and verified channels. Another recommendation is to activate and update software using legitimate functions/tools, as those acquired from third-parties can contain malware.

It is paramount to have a dependable anti-virus installed and kept up-to-date. Security programs must be used to run regular system scans and to remove detected 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 "Failed Login Attempt" spam email letter:

Subject: UNUSUAL SIGN-IN ACTIVITY

Dear ********,

There was a failed login attempt on 8th of December, 2024 at 7:40 PM.
IP Address : 24.89.41.233
Check login activity

If you did not initiate this, Please Change your password. and contact our Customer Centre ********

Why send this mail? We take security very seriously and we want to keep you in the loop of activities on your account.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Failed Login Attempt" spam campaign:

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▼ 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 "Failed Login Attempt" 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, regardless of any relevant information that they may include. These emails are distributed in mass-scale campaigns – therefore, thousands of users receive identical or incredibly similar 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 possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if you have provided other private information (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?

Merely reading an email is harmless; devices are infected when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

Whether the device was compromised might depend on the format of the opened file. Once opened, executables (.exe, .run, etc.) cause infections almost without fail. Some formats – like documents (.doc, .xls, .one, .pdf, etc.) – might need additional actions. Hence, malware download/installation is triggered only after macros are enabled, embedded content is clicked, or other actions are performed.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner is designed to scan systems and eliminate all kinds of threats. It can detect and remove practically all known malware infections. Keep in mind that performing a complete system scan is paramount since sophisticated malicious programs tend to hide deep within systems.

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