How to spot scams lke "Account Security Update" fake email notification

What is the fake "Account Security Update"?

We have reviewed the email and found that it contains a fake notification regarding account security. It is designed to appear legitimate and urgent, and to trick recipients into opening the provided website. The goal is to steal personal information. Emails of this kind are phishing attempts, and recipients are strongly advised to ignore them.

More about the "Account Security Update" scam email

This phishing email pretends to be a security notification from a service provider. It claims that the recipient's account requires verification for "continued access" and urges them to act within 48 hours. The message encourages the recipient to click a link ("Verify My Account") to proceed.

The link in this email leads to a fake website designed to steal login credentials. Usually, scammers behind such messages seek to extract email addresses (or usernames) and passwords. If they obtain these details, they try to access email, social media, banking, gaming, or other accounts.

Hijacked accounts, depending on their type, can be misused to steal sensitive information, scam others, steal money, distribute malware, or for other malicious purposes. Thus, falling for scams like this one can result in various issues, including identity theft, financial loss, and reputational damage.

Similar scam emails in general

Phishing emails often pretend to be from trusted services, organizations, companies, or other entities, and urge recipients to act quickly. They usually include links to fake websites designed to steal personal information. Sometimes, they can be used to spread malicious software.

More examples of phishing emails are "Failed System Update Email Scam", "Validate Mailbox Email Scam", and "Email Account Status Changed Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Emails intended to deliver malware can include malicious attachments. The attached infected files can be Word, Excel, or PDF documents, compressed files, executables, ISO images, scripts, or other files. Opening these files or enabling features like macros can allow malware to infect a device.

Emails may also contain links that lead to fake or compromised websites. Visiting these sites can trigger automatic malware downloads or prompt users to download harmful software. In most cases, infections happen after users click on malicious links or open infected attachments.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Exercise caution with emails and messages, especially if they are unexpected or come from unknown senders, and do not click on links or open attachments in them. Avoid pirated programs, key generators, or cracking tools, and download software only from official websites or trusted app stores.

Do not interact with pop-ups, ads, buttons, or links on untrustworthy websites. Keep your operating system and applications up to date, and perform regular scans with reputable security software to protect your device.

Text presented in the "Account Security Update" email letter:

Subject: Confirm Your Email : ********

Security Verification
Account Security Update

Verification Required

Hello,

We're reaching out as part of our ongoing commitment to protect your account security. We've implemented enhanced security measures across our platform, and we need you to verify your contact information to ensure continued access to your account.

Your account verification is pending. Please complete this step within 48 hours to avoid any service interruptions.

This is a quick process that takes less than 2 minutes. Click the secure button below to access your account portal and confirm your details:

Verify My Account

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Quick menu:

• What is Account Security Update fake email notification?
• 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?

Such messages are typically distributed to large numbers of recipients. They are not personal/targeted. Scammers use addresses collected from hacked or fake websites, or other sources.

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

Change the passwords for all potentially affected accounts and notify the appropriate authorities or organizations if sensitive personal (e.g., financial) information might have been exposed.

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

The risk of malware infection varies by file type. Executable files (.exe) can infect a system immediately upon opening, while document files usually pose a threat only if macros are enabled.

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

Simply opening an email does not harm a device. Infection occurs only when a malicious attachment is opened or a harmful link is clicked.

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

Running a scan with Combo Cleaner can remove most malware from a device. When a full scan is run, it can detect and eliminate hidden or more advanced threats.