How to identify fake "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" emails

What kind of email is "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials"?

After reading this "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" email, we determined that it is spam. This message claims that the recipient's password will expire within 24 hours. The recipient is urged to maintain uninterrupted service – thus, they are lured into revealing their email account log-in credentials to a phishing website.

"Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" email scam overview

This spam email is presented as an automated alert from the recipient's "IT Support Team". Supposedly, the recipient's password will expire within 24 hours. They are encouraged to keep the current password to avoid service interruptions. The information in this message is false, and this email is in no way associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

Pressing the "KEEP PASSWORD" button results in a redirect to a phishing website. The purpose of phishing sites is to collect provided information. Hence, by attempting to sign in through such a fake webpage – victims inadvertently expose their accounts to cyber criminals.

Emails are highly targeted since they tend to contain sensitive information, and may open an avenue for stealing accounts/platforms/services registered through them (e.g., social media/networking, entertainment, e-commerce, money transferring, digital wallets, online banking, etc.).

To expand on the potential abuse, scammers can steal the account owner's identity and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, endorse scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files or links. Hijacked finance-related accounts can be used to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

It is noteworthy that work email accounts are often used in an attempt to infect the corporate network with malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, cryptocurrency miners, etc.).

In summary, by trusting an email like "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" – users may experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already entered your log-in credentials to a phishing website/file – change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support without delay.

Phishing spam campaign examples

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Aside from targeting information, spam emails can promote sextortion, technical support, advance fee, refund, and other types of scams. This mail is also used to spread all kinds of malware.

Due to how prevalent spam mail is and how competently put together it can be – we strongly advise vigilance with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other messages.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Spam campaigns distribute malware through infectious files, which can be attached to or linked inside the emails/messages. These files come in different formats, e.g., documents (PDF, Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, etc.), executables (EXE, RUN, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Merely opening a malicious file can be enough to trigger the infection chain. However, some formats 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 exercising caution with incoming emails and other communications. Attachments or links found in suspicious/irrelevant mail must not be opened, as they can be harmful or virulent.

However, malware is distributed using various techniques. Therefore, we advise vigilance when browsing since the Internet is full of deceptive and dangerous content.

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

We must stress the importance of having a reputable antivirus installed and kept updated. Security programs 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 "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" spam email letter:

Subject: ********: IT Security Alert: Your Password Expires In 24 Hours

Dear ********,

This is an automated alert from the IT Support Team regarding your system credentials. Your current password is scheduled to expire within the next 24 hours, and action is required to maintain uninterrupted access to internal resources.

Click the button below to keep your current password active:

KEEP PASSWORD

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Alert Regarding Your System Credentials" 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 such information or details otherwise relevant to the recipients. Cyber criminals send out these messages by the thousand with the hopes that at least some recipients will fall for their scams.

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 exposed accounts and inform their official support. However, if you've disclosed information of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, 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?

Reading an email does not pose an infection threat; devices 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?

File formats may influence infection success rates. Once opened, executables cause infections almost without fail. However, some formats – like documents – might need additional interaction. For example, these formats can require users to enable macro commands, click embedded content, or perform other actions before the malware infiltration process can be jumpstarted.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware infections. Remember that performing a complete system scan is crucial since sophisticated malicious programs typically hide deep within systems.