How to recognize phishing scams like "Session Expired"

What kind of scam is "Session Expired"?

Our inspection has shown that this is a fake message regarding an "expired session" from the email service provider. Scammers behind this email seek to deceive recipients into opening a fraudulent page (a phishing site) and entering personal information. It is important to recognize such scams and ignore them.

More about the "Session Expired" scam email

This phishing email claims to be a system notification and informs the recipient that their session has expired due to inactivity. It instructs them to sign in again using a provided link to regain access to their account. Additionally, the email advises the recipient to contact support if they have not attempted to access their account recently.

The provided link ("Re-Sign In Now") opens a fake email account login page that mimics the design of the recipient's email service provider. For instance, recipients using Gmail are directed to a fake Gmail sign-in site. In all cases, this page instructs visitors to enter their email account login credentials.

With access to an email account, scammers can read messages, access sensitive information, and reset passwords for other linked accounts, or try to access other accounts using the same login details. They may also use the compromised account to send phishing emails or spam to the victim's contacts.

Additionally, stolen accounts can also be sold on the dark web to other cybercriminals. Therefore, it is important to examine emails before opening links or files to avoid falling for scams.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails are used to deceive recipients into disclosing sensitive data (e.g., including login credentials, financial information, or other personal details). Scammers often disguise these messages as notifications from legitimate companies or other entities and present them as urgent and important.

They usually include harmful links or attachments that direct victims to phishing websites or pages hosting malware. Examples of similar scams are "You Have Exhausted All Of Your Available Email Storage", "Account Validation Request", and "POLICY AMENDMENT".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors can deliver malware via email by attaching infected files. These attachments may be Word or Excel documents, PDFs, executable files (.exe), scripts, compressed files (ZIP, RAR), or other files. Opening them, or taking additional steps such as enabling macros in an infected Office files, can result in the system becoming infected.

Another common method is sending malicious links. Clicking these links can redirect users to websites that either automatically begin downloading malware or attempt to trick them into manually downloading and executing it.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with emails from unfamiliar or suspicious senders, particularly if they contain unexpected attachments or dubious links. Do not click on pop-ups, ads, or other interactive elements on untrustworthy websites, and deny any requests from these sites to send notifications.

Download files and software from reliable sources, such as official websites or reputable app stores. Keep your operating system and applications up to date, and protect your device with trusted antivirus software. 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 "Session Expired" email letter:

Subject: System Notification:

Session Expired
Hello -,

Your session has expired due to inactivity. For security reasons, please re-sign in to continue accessing your account.
Re-Sign In Now

If you did not attempt to access your account recently, please contact our support team immediately.

Thank you for your attention.

Best regards,
Mail Administration Team

This is an automated message. Please do not reply.
© 2025 Mail Administration Services. All rights reserved.

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Quick menu:

• What is Session 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?

Usually, scammers send the same generic messages to all recipients. They typically obtain the recipients' email addresses from data breaches, fake websites, or other sources.

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

If any account credentials have been exposed, reset your passwords right away and contact support if an account cannot be accessed anymore.

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

Executable files can immediately infect computers with malware after being opened. Documents like PDFs or Word files usually need the user to take extra steps, like turning on macros, before malware can infiltrate systems.

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

Opening an email is safe. Your device can become infected only if you click on harmful links or download and open malicious attachments.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate the majority of known malware. Since advanced malware often hides deep inside the system, running a full system scan is crucial to ensure detection and removal.