How to recognize fake "Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired" emails

What kind of email is "Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired"?

Our inspection of the "Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired" email revealed that it is spam. This is a phishing email targeting recipients' financial information by claiming that they have run out of Cloud storage and recommending an upgrade.

"Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "Cloud Storage Alert: Upgrade Before Your Files Are Deleted" informs the recipient that the payment method for their Cloud storage has expired. The recipient is urged to renew the information. The available space has been maxed, and the email suggests upgrading the storage plan. If the payment details are not verified/changed and the service is not restored, the recipient risks losing all the files currently in storage.

It must be emphasized that all the information provided by this email is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers.

At the time of research, the phishing site promoted by this spam email was down. Keep in mind that this could be fixed in potential future releases of this campaign (i.e., emails will redirect to a functional page).

Based on the lure in this message, it is obvious that the intended webpage targeted finance-related data. Victims were likely asked to enter their credit/debit card details or information for a different payment method. With this data in their possession, cyber criminals can make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

It is noteworthy that spam campaigns often promote phishing sites disguised as the sign-in pages of various accounts. Should scammers gain access to online banking, money transferring, digital wallets, or similar accounts – victims risk experiencing the previously mentioned issues.

Hijacked socially-oriented accounts (e.g., emails, social networking/media, messengers, chats, etc.) can be used to steal the owner's identity and ask for loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, promote scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links or attachments.

To summarize, victims of spam mail like "Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have entered personally identifiable or finance-related data into a phishing site – contact the appropriate authorities without delay. If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly exposed accounts and inform their official support.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Spotify Payment Issue Notice", "Finished Updating Mail Server", "Overdraft Payment", and "Next Holidays" are merely a few of our latest articles on phishing emails.

Typically targeted information includes log-in credentials, personally identifiable details, and finance-related data. However, various scams are promoted through spam campaigns, and they are used to proliferate malware.

Due to how prevalent this mail is and how well-crafted it can be – we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns spread malware by distributing malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (EXE, RUN, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

Merely opening an infectious file can be enough to trigger malware download/installation. Some formats need additional user interaction to initiate infection processes. For example, Microsoft Office files require users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents need them to click embedded links or files.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Incoming emails and other messages must be approached with caution. We advise against opening attachments or links found in dubious/irrelevant communications, as they can be harmful or infectious.

It must be mentioned that malware is not spread only through spam campaigns. Therefore, we recommend being careful while browsing since fake and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless.

Additionally, all downloads must be made from official and verified channels. Software must be activated and updated using functions/tools provided by legitimate developers, as illegal program activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updates can contain malware.

We must stress the importance of having a dependable antivirus installed and kept updated. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats. 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 "Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired" spam email letter:

Subject: Cloud Storage Alert: Upgrade Before Your Files Are Deleted

Cloud

Your payment method has expired!

Please update your payment details.

If you've run out of Cloud space, consider upgrading your storage plan.

Your Cloud Service Has Been Disabled

We were unable to renew your Cloud storage.
Without storage, you risk losing all files and data stored in the Cloud Service.

Order Details:

Subscription Plan: 250GB
Product: Cloud Storage
Expiration Date: June 19

Without sufficient Cloud space, you may not be able to store all your data and files.

Final Notice: Your data is at risk of deletion.

Your account has been blocked. All your photos and videos may be permanently removed today.

UPDATE MY PAYMENT DETAILS

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Quick menu:

• What is "Cloud - Your Payment Method Has Expired" 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, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. These messages are distributed in large-scale campaigns – 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 possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if you have disclosed other private data (e.g., ID card details, passport photos/scans, credit/debit card numbers, etc.) – immediately contact relevant 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 actions (e.g., enabling macros, clicking embedded content, etc.) – to jumpstart malware download/installation processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate practically all known malware infections. Keep in mind that performing a full system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.