How to identify scams like "Webmail Password Validation" fake email

What kind of scam is "Webmail Password Validation"?

We have examined the email and concluded that it is a fake letter regarding a Webmail account password validation. We classified it as a phishing email because it contains links leading to a deceptive website designed to steal login credentials from unsuspecting recipients. This email should be ignored to avoid the associated risks.

More about the "Webmail Password Validation" scam email

The scam email claims to be a webmail password validation notice. It warns the recipient that their password is about to expire and urges them to update it promptly to maintain uninterrupted access to their account. The message includes the recipient's email address, states the password status as "About to Expire", and offers options to "Keep My Password" or "Modify Password".

Clicking the provided links ("Keep My Password" or "Modify Password") leads to a phishing website masquerading as the Webmail login site. This page is designed to steal the login credentials that have been entered. Scammers can use the obtained details to access email accounts and look for other personal information in emails, send phishing emails to other people, and more.

Scammers can also try to access other accounts (if the same password is reused), including social media, gaming, and banking. If they succeed, they may exploit those accounts to make fraudulent purchases and transactions, steal identities, deliver malware, etc. Thus, it is important to carefully examine suspicious emails before interacting with their contents.

Similar scam emails in general

Emails like this are typically phishing attempts designed to trick recipients into revealing their login credentials or other information. In most cases, scammers send emails that appear to be urgent and important to trick users into taking harmful actions. Users should be cautious and avoid interacting with such messages.

Examples of similar scams are "Message Restriction Activity", "Account Review Report", and "cPanel Password Notification". Fraudulent emails can also be used to deliver malware.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors distribute malware via email by including malicious files or links in their messages. These attachments can be executable files (.exe), Office documents, PDFs, compressed folders (ZIP/RAR), script files, or disk image files (ISO). Interacting with these attachments—such as opening them or enabling features like macros—can trigger the execution of malware on the system.

Such emails can also include links to suspicious websites. These sites may either initiate automatic malware downloads or deceive users into downloading malicious files or programs themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious of pop-ups, ads, or suspicious links on untrustworthy websites. Always keep your operating system and software up to date, and use reliable antivirus tools to help protect against infections. Avoid clicking on links or opening files in unexpected or irrelevant emails, especially those from unknown senders.

Use reputable sources like official websites or verified app stores when downloading software or files. Stay alert and practice safe browsing habits to reduce the risk of malware. If you have 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 Validation" email letter:

Subject: Password Validation On ******** !!!

WEBMAIL PASSWORD VALIDATION

Your password is set to expire, To ensure uninterrupted access to your account, please update your password before the expiration date.

Account Information:

Email Address: ********

Password Status: About to Expire
Keep My Password Modify Password

© 2025. All Rights Reserved. ********

Phishing website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Webmail Password Validation 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?

You probably received a scam email because your address was obtained through a data breach or collected by scammers using other techniques. These emails are usually not personalized—scammers often send identical messages to large numbers of recipients at once.

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

If scammers have stolen your login credentials, immediately change all affected passwords to secure your accounts and prevent unauthorized access.

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

If the file you opened was an executable (.exe), it likely activated the malware. However, if it was a document file (like a .pdf or .doc), your device may not be infected, as these files typically require further interaction, such as enabling macros, to deploy malware.

I have read the email but did not open the attachment, is my computer infected?

Simply opening an email is generally safe. Computers can be infected after clicking on malicious links or downloading and opening infected attachments.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections that were present in email attachment?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware threats. However, advanced malware often hides deep within the system, so running a full system scan is crucial to ensure detection and complete removal.