How to identify scams like 'We Have Updated Your Citi Debit Card"

What is "We Have Updated Your Citi Debit Card" scam?

Our team has reviewed the email and concluded that it is a phishing attempt. The message is designed to appear as a notification from Citibank. It includes a link that leads recipients to a fake website designed to pilfer personal information. Recipients of this email should ignore it.

More about the "We Have Updated Your Citi Debit Card" scam email

This scam email impersonates Citibank and falsely claims that the recipient's debit card has been added to a Bitcoin wallet. It instructs the recipient to sign in if they did not authorize the action. Its goal is to lure victims into clicking a fake sign-in link that leads to a phishing page designed to steal information.

That site mimics the appearance of the Citibank sign-in page and instructs visitors to enter their user ID and password to sign in. Any entered details are sent to scammers. With this information, fraudsters may be able to access banking accounts and steal money, make fraudulent purchases, or perform other malicious actions.

Additionally, they may use the stolen details to attempt to access social media, gaming, email, or other accounts. Falling for this scam can result in various issues, including financial loss and identity theft. Therefore, it is essential to recognize scam emails and refrain from interacting with links or files within them.

Similar scam emails in general

In conclusion, this is a phishing scam designed to steal sensitive details by abusing Citibank's name. Interacting with the email or the linked website can lead to account compromise, financial losses, and identity theft. Users should ignore such messages, avoid clicking embedded links, and access their bank accounts only through official websites or apps.

It is essential to note that fraudulent emails are sometimes used to deliver malware. Similar scams are "Your Webmail Account Is Inactive Email Scam", "cPanel Mailbox Settings Might Need An Update Email Scam", and "Amazon - Your Package Was Delivered Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Deceptive emails can include infected attachments that appear to be normal or trustworthy files, such as documents, PDFs, executables, or compressed files. These files can contain hidden malware. After opening these files or taking additional steps, malware can infect systems.

Such emails may also include links that lead to malicious websites, where malware is downloaded automatically or users are tricked into downloading and launching it themselves. In most cases, a system becomes infected only after interacting with malicious files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Keep your operating system and installed applications up to date, and regularly scan your device with reputable security software. Avoid pop-ups, ads, buttons, and links on untrusted websites, and only download software from official sources or well-known app stores—never use pirated programs, cracks, or keygens.

Be wary of unexpected emails or messages from unknown senders, and do not click links or open attachments contained in them.

Appearance of the scam email (GIF):

Text presented in the "We Have Updated Your Citi Debit Card" email letter:

Subject: From CitiBank

We have updated your Citi Debit Card.

Your Citi Card has been added to Bitcoin wallet, and you can now use it to make bitcoin purchases at participating merchants and access

Your Citi Card benefits remain the same. You'll experience all of the benefits you already have, plus added convenience and security.

You can shop with peace of mind. Featuring the latest technology. including Face ID™️ and Touch1D™️, Bitcoin wallet is secure

If you did not add your Citi Card on Bitcoin wallet, please sign in and cancel it.

Sign In

Thank you for being a Citi customer. We appreciate your business

Sincerely Card Services.

citibank

‎©️ 2026 Citi Online Banking

Fake website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is We Have Updated Your Citi Debit Card 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?

Such messages are sent in bulk and usually do not include names, surnames, or similar details. Email lists are commonly gathered from breaches or other fraudulent campaigns.

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

Change the passwords for any accounts that may be affected, and contact the appropriate authorities or service providers if sensitive data, such as financial information, could have been exposed.

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

Some file types, such as executable files, can infect a system as soon as they are opened, while others, like documents, usually become dangerous only if macros are enabled. As a result, the risk of compromise depends on the type of file the user opens.

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

Simply receiving or opening an email is usually safe, but a device can become compromised if the user clicks a malicious link or opens a harmful attachment.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of removing malware, and running a full system scan helps identify and eliminate hidden or more advanced threats.