How to identify scams like the fake "Webmail System Notification"

What is the fake "Webmail System Notification"?

After reviewing the email, it is clear that it is a phishing scam disguised as a notification about pending messages. The scammers aim to deceive recipients into visiting a fake website and disclosing personal information. Emails like this should be identified as fraudulent and deleted without interaction.

More about the "Webmail System Notification" scam email

This scam email is disguised as a system notification from a webmail provider. It claims that the recipient has pending messages waiting in their email account and must log in through a "Webmail 2.0" interface to access them. The email also states that the recipient must complete authentication within two days for security reasons.

Additionally, it provides a link labeled "Login Webmail 2.0". The purpose of this email is to trick users into clicking the link and entering their email account login credentials on a fake site controlled by scammers. After stealing this information, they may harvest more sensitive personal information, access linked accounts, distribute phishing messages, or carry out identity theft.

In many cases, scammers also attempt to breach other services like online banking, social media, or gaming platforms. Also, collected data is often sold to third parties. To stay protected, users should avoid responding to suspicious emails or clicking on any attached links or files, as doing so can lead to financial loss, identity compromise, or other serious consequences.

Similar scam emails in general

These emails are designed to deceive recipients into revealing sensitive information by mimicking legitimate service notifications or other messages. Responding to these messages or clicking embedded links can lead to identity theft, financial loss, and unauthorized access to personal accounts. It is essential to delete such emails immediately and never share login credentials through suspicious websites.

Examples of similar scams are "Incoming Messages Held In Quarantine", "Receipt Copy", and "Intuit QuickBooks Account Confirmation".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors often attempt to deceive users by sending emails that contain infected files/attachments. These attachments might include executable files (.exe), Microsoft Office documents, PDFs, compressed archives (ZIP, RAR), scripts, or disk image files. Opening these files or performing certain actions, like enabling macros, can launch malware on the user's device.

Sometimes, instead of an attachment, these emails can include a link to a malicious or compromised website. Such sites may either initiate an automatic malware download or attempt to trick the user into manually downloading and running a harmful file/program.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be careful with unexpected emails, especially from unfamiliar senders. Avoid clicking suspicious links or opening attachments. When downloading software, use reputable sources like official websites or authorized app stores. Avoid trusting pop-ups, ads, or links that appear on untrustworthy websites.

Make sure your operating system and applications are always up to date and routinely scan your device with reliable antivirus software to detect and remove threats. 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 System Notification" email letter:

Subject: Action Required

******** Webmail System Notification

Account Holder: ********

Registered Email: ********

Our records indicate you have pending messages in the ******** Webmail system. Please authenticate through our updated Webmail 2.0 interface to access your messages.

For security purposes, all users must complete authentication through the new webmail interface not more than 2 days from {data}05:16:59 AM.
Login Webmail 2.0

Important Security Notice: Never share your login credentials with third parties. Dsqtech.com support staff will never ask for your password.

Manage notification preferences through your Webmail Account Settings.

© ******** Web Services • All rights reserved

Phishing website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Fake Webmail System Notification?
• 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 typically send identical messages to many people at once. Receiving one usually means your email address was obtained from a data leak, fake website, or another unreliable source—not because you were specifically targeted.

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

If you have provided login information to scammers, immediately change the passwords for all potentially compromised accounts. If you cannot access an account, contact the support team of that service for help.

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

If the file you opened was an executable (e.g., a .exe), your system was likely infected. But if it was a document like a PDF, Word, or Excel file, there is a chance you avoided infection.

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

Merely opening an email is not enough to infect your device with malware. However, engaging with its content can lead to malware infiltration.

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

Combo Cleaner can identify and eliminate the majority of known malware threats. Since certain types of malware can conceal themselves deep within the system, performing a full system scan is highly recommended to ensure detection and removal.