How to identify scams like "Ledger Account Backup" fake message

What is "Ledger Account Backup" scam?

Our team has checked the email and found that it is a phishing message. The scammers behind it seek to trick recipients into visiting a fake website and entering personal information. Victims of this scam may have their cryptocurrency stolen and possibly encounter other issues. Thus, this email should be ignored.

More about the "Ledger Account Backup" scam email

This email is disguised as a message from Ledger, a legitimate hardware wallet company. It is designed to scare cryptocurrency holders by claiming that XRP and other assets could be lost if they are not stored in a specific type of decentralized Web3 wallet. It falsely states that major investors are pouring billions into XRP, implying urgent action is needed.

The message instructs recipients to "protect" their assets by avoiding exchanges and cold wallets. It urges them to use an "encrypted" portal to back up their Ledger account. Also, the email mentions Web3, AI, and decentralization to appear legitimate. Its purpose is to trick recipients into opening the provided link.

That link directs recipients to a fake website posing as the "Quantum Security Backups" platform. On this site, visitors are encouraged to "import" their wallet by providing a recovery phrase, keystore JSON, or a private key. This information, if disclosed, can be misused to steal cryptocurrency wallets.

Stolen cryptocurrency wallets can be drained, and victims may lose their crypto holdings permanently, as blockchain transactions are irreversible. It is important to recognize scam emails and fake sites like these to avoid monetary loss and other issues.

Similar scam emails in general

Overall, this scam is crafted to appear urgent and important to trick recipients into entering their wallet credentials on a fraudulent website. Recognizing these tactics is essential to preventing irreversible loss of cryptocurrency or other negative outcomes, such as malware infiltration.

More examples of emails designed to steal information are "iCloud Payment Method Declined Email Scam", "Your Email Has Been Flagged As A Spam Sender Scam", and "Webmail - IMAP Authentication Process Issue Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors can distribute malware through emails by sending malicious files, such as Office documents, PDFs, compressed files, scripts, or executables. The infection typically begins when the recipient opens the file or performs an action, such as enabling macros.

Scammers can also include links to fake or compromised websites that either download malware automatically or persuade users to download and execute it themselves. In general, a device is only compromised when a user interacts with a malicious file or link.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Download software only from official sites or trusted app stores, and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or key generators. Be cautious when encountering ads, pop-ups, buttons, or links on suspicious websites - do not click on them. Also, refuse any notification requests from pages of this kind.

Keep your operating system and applications up to date by regularly installing the available updates. Use reputable security software to perform regular scans and remove potential threats. Additionally, examine unexpected emails or messages, especially those from unfamiliar senders, and avoid opening attachments or clicking links within them.

The appearance of a scam website used in this scheme (GIF):

Text presented in the "Ledger Account Backup" email letter:

Subject: Web3 action required!!!

[LEDGER]

This publication warns about the risks for those holding XRP and other cryptocurrencies in cold wallets or exchanges. If these assets aren't in a decentralized Web3 wallet, there's a risk of loss during liquidation, serving as a crucial reminder for many.

XRP is on the verge of hitting a new all-time high, fueled by $10 billion in investments from figures like Trump and various hedge funds. This support positions XRP to compete significantly with Bitcoin.

To safeguard your XRP, avoid keeping it on exchanges or in cold wallets.

Ledger and 1inch have partnered to enhance transparency, allowing you to back up your Ledger account via this encrypted portal:

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with 1inch's connection.

Web3 heralds the future of the internet, utilizing AI, machine learning, and blockchain for a decentralized web that empowers users over their data. Embrace this shift to protect your assets wisely!

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Thank you,
Ledger support Team
© 2025 ledger & 1inch. All rights reserved.
Services provided in partnership with financial institutions. See account terms for details.

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Quick menu:

• What is Ledger Account Backup 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?

Fraudsters often obtain email addresses by harvesting leaked information or tricking people into entering their details on fake sites. As a result, their emails are rarely tailored to any specific person (they send identical emails to all addresses they have).

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

If your login details have been exposed, make sure to change the passwords (or other private details) for any accounts that might be affected. If other sensitive information, like banking data, credit card numbers, or identification documents, has been compromised, reach out to the relevant institutions or authorities.

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

The level of risk differs based on the type of file involved. Executable files can launch malware as soon as they are opened, while document files are typically safer unless the user enables features like macros or performs additional actions that execute malware.

I have lost my cryptocurrency in a scam, can I get my money back?

Unfortunately, most cryptocurrency transactions cannot be reversed, and the funds are usually lost permanently.

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

A device is only at risk if the user opens a malicious attachment or clicks a harmful link. Reading an email does not cause harm.

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

Combo Cleaner is able to detect and remove nearly all known malware. Since sophisticated malware can hide deep within the system, it is important to run a complete system scan.