How to identify fake "European Data Protection Supervisor" emails

What kind of email is "European Data Protection Supervisor"?

After examining this "European Data Protection Supervisor" email, we determined that it is fake. This spam message is presented as a notification concerning an investigation undertaken by Europol. The document attached to this email details a supposed investigation in which the recipient is presumed to have committed heinous crimes. The likely goal of this scam mail is to deceive recipients into disclosing sensitive information and/or sending money to scammers.

"European Data Protection Supervisor" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Newsletter Nr. 471 vom 18. Mai 2025" (may vary) is in English and German; the same message is conveyed in both languages. The letter claims that the attachment is an official response issued by the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS). The recipient is instructed to carefully review the document and provide a response before the deadline.

The attachment – "EDPS2025-0554.pdf" (filename may vary) – is marked with the logos of Europol and the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). The PDF document informs the recipient of an investigation by Europol concerning potential illegal activities.

Essentially, the fraudulent document accuses the recipient of various criminal activities, including the possession and dissemination of sexual content involving minors. If found guilty, the accused faces 5-10 years imprisonment and a fine ranging from €4,500 to €76,00.

It must be emphasized that all the information in the email and the attached file is false, and this mail is not associated with European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), EDPS, EPPO, or any other real authorities.

Typically, spam campaigns of this kind target personally identifiable information or funds directly. Recipients may be instructed to submit copies of their ID cards/ passports or provide other sensitive data.

Money may be extracted under the guise of fines. Scammers use difficult-to-trace methods for fund acquisition, such as digital currencies, gift cards, pre-paid vouchers, cash hidden in packages and shipped, etc. These methods decrease the chances of successfully prosecuting the scammers and of victims recovering their assets.

To summarize, by trusting scam mail like "European Data Protection Supervisor" – users can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have disclosed personally identifiable or finance-related information to scammers – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

Spam campaigns in general

We have written about numerous spam campaigns. Various scams are facilitated through these emails, including phishing, technical support, refund, sextortion, advance fee, etc. This mail is also used to distribute trojans, ransomware, cryptominers, and other types of malware.

While the widely held belief that these emails are poorly made and riddled with mistakes is not untrue, it is not always the case. Spam mail can be competently made and even convincingly disguised as messages from legitimate entities (e.g., authorities, service providers, companies, organizations, institutions, etc.).

"Message Restriction Activity", "Account Review Report", "cPanel Password Notification", "Maja Hoffmann Donation", "Capital One - Unlock Your Account Access", "PayPal - Money Received", "Staff ID Card", "Elon Musk Foundation's Compensation Program", "Selling And Lending Cryptocurrencies", and "United Nation/World Bank - Unpaid Beneficiary" are merely some of our latest articles on spam campaigns.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly proliferated via spam campaigns. These emails/messages include virulent files as attachments or download links. Malicious files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening an infectious file can be enough to initiate the infection chain. However, some formats may require additional actions to begin downloading/installing malware. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

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

It must be mentioned that malware is proliferated using various methods. Therefore, we also advise caution when browsing since fraudulent and malicious online content usually appears genuine and harmless.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and verified sources. Software must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as those acquired from third-parties may contain malware.

We must emphasize the importance of having a dependable antivirus installed and kept updated. 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 "European Data Protection Supervisor" spam email letter:

Subject: Newsletter Nr. 471 vom 18. Mai 2025

Dear Sir or Madam,

We acknowledge receipt of a postal letter concerning you, referenced EDPS2025-0454. Please find attached the official response issued by the European Data Protection Supervisor.

We invite you to read it carefully and provide your response within the specified timeframe, exclusively to the following address: edps.europol@europe.com

We thank you in advance for your diligence and cooperation.

European Data Protection Supervisor
Office address: Rue Montoyer 30, B-1000 Brussels

-------------

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

Wir bestätigen den Erhalt eines Sie betreffenden Postschreibens mit der Nummer EDPS2025-0454. Anbei finden Sie die offizielle Antwort des Europäischen Datenschutzbeauftragten.

Wir bitten Sie, es sorgfältig durchzulesen und Ihre Antwort innerhalb der vorgegebenen Frist ausschließlich an die folgende Adresse zu senden: edps.europol@europe.com

Wir danken Ihnen im Voraus für Ihre Sorgfalt und Mitarbeit.

Europäischer Datenschutzbeauftragter
Büroadresse: Rue Montoyer 30, B-1000 Brüssel

Screenshot of the file attached to this spam email ("EDPS2025-0554.pdf"):

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Quick menu:

• What is "European Data Protection Supervisor" spam 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, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. This mail is sent out in large-scale operations – therefore, thousands of users receive identical (or incredibly similar) emails.

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

If you have provided your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support. However, if you've disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact the appropriate authorities.

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

No, reading an email does not pose an infection threat. Systems are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened/clicked.

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

If the opened file was an executable – most likely, yes – the device was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document. These formats may require additional interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded content, etc.) to initiate malware infiltration processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove practically all known malware infections. Keep in mind that sophisticated malicious software usually hides deep within systems – therefore, performing a full system scan is crucial.