How to identify fake "Change To The Webmail Access Interface" emails

What kind of email is "Change To The Webmail Access Interface"?

After inspecting this "Change To The Webmail Access Interface" email, we determined that it is spam. The message urges recipients to update their email account information to avoid interruptions to the service. This spam campaign aims to trick users into disclosing their account log-in credentials to a phishing website.

"Change To The Webmail Access Interface" email scam overview

The spam email with the subject "PLEASE VERIFY ACCOUNT" (may vary) states that there is an upcoming change to the recipient's email access interface. The message urges to verify and update account information; failure to do so may result in issues with accessing the account and other service disruptions.

It must be stressed that the information in this email is false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers. The phishing site promoted by this campaign appears as an email account sign-in page. Log-in credentials entered into it are recorded and sent to scammers.

Emails are of particular interest to cyber criminals, as they tend to include highly sensitive data and may open an avenue for stealing linked accounts, platforms, and services (e.g., social networking, file transferring, cloud storage, entertainment, e-commerce, online banking, digital wallets, etc.).

Work accounts are often targeted to infect the corporate network with malware. Scammers can steal an account owner's identity and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, endorse scams, and spread malware by sharing malicious links or files. Hijacked finance-related accounts can be used to make fraudulent transactions or online purchases.

In summary, by trusting an email like "Change To The Webmail Access Interface" – users can experience system infections, severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already provided your log-in credentials to a phishing website/file – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and inform their official support.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"Authenticate Your Email Address", "Email Address Will Be Deactivated As A Security Measure", "Urgent Action Required", and "Mailbox Storage Limit Exceeded" are merely some of our newest articles on phishing emails.

It must be mentioned that spam campaigns are used to promote various scams and to proliferate all kinds of malware. These emails are often poorly written and full of grammatical/spelling mistakes, but they can be competently put together and even believably disguised as messages from legitimate identities. Therefore, we highly recommend exercising caution with incoming emails, DMs/PMs, SMSes, and other communications.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly proliferated via spam campaigns. These deceptive emails/messages include malicious files as attachments or download links. Infectious files that can be documents (Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), executables (EXE, RUN, etc.), archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), JavaScript, and so on.

The infection chain is initiated once such a file is opened. However, some formats need additional interaction to malware download/installation 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?

We recommend vigilance with incoming emails and other messages. Attachments or links found in suspicious communications must not be opened, as they may be virulent.

However, malware is distributed using various methods. Therefore, we advise being cautious while browsing, as the Internet is full of deceptive and malicious content.

Another recommendation is to download only from official and trustworthy channels. Programs must be activated and updated using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal product activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters can contain malware.

It is paramount for device/user safety to have a reputable antivirus installed and kept up-to-date. Security software must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove active and potential 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 "Change To The Webmail Access Interface" spam email letter:

Subject: PLEASE VERIFY ACCOUNT

Dear ********

We are reaching out to inform you of an important upcoming change to the webmail access interface for your email account.

As part of our system upgrade, the sign-in page will be updated starting today. To ensure uninterrupted access to your email, we kindly ask that you verify and update your account information.

Please follow the link below to confirm your details:

UPDATE ACCOUNT

This update will help us renew your email certificate and maintain a secure connection for your continued use.

If no action is taken, you may experience issues accessing your account after the upgrade is completed.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Best regards,
Customer Care Team
********
© 2025. All rights reserved.

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by this spam campaign:

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Quick menu:

• What is "Change To The Webmail Access Interface" 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 sent out in large-scale operations – hence, 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 potentially exposed accounts and inform their official support without delay. However, if you've disclosed other private information (e.g., ID card details, 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 poses no 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. For example, if the opened file was an executable – most likely, yes – the system 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 links/files, etc.) to initiate malware infiltration processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate almost all known malware infections. It must be stressed that running a full system scan is essential since high-end malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.