How to spot scams like "Maintenance To Improve Server Performance"

What kind of scam is "Maintenance To Improve Server Performance"?

Our team has examined the email and concluded that it contains a fake maintenance notice from the email service provider. It is designed to appear legitimate and urgent to trick recipients into opening the provided link. The ultimate goal of the scammers behind this email is to steal personal information.

More about the "Maintenance To Improve Server Performance" scam email

The email is disguised as a routine maintenance notice from a service. It claims that the recipient needs to confirm their account is in "good standing". It also urges the recipient to complete a quick verification step via a provided button/link ("Complete Quick Check"). Clicking this link leads to a fake website.

That fake site imitates the recipient's email service provider (it can appear as Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Webmail, or other services). The purpose of this deceptive page is to steal email account login credentials. Scammers can use the stolen details to access email and potentially other accounts (e.g., banking, social media, or gaming).

Accessed accounts can be misused for malicious purposes, such as identity theft, financial fraud, and malware distribution. Thus, victims of this scam may experience various issues, including financial loss, identity theft, and reputational damage. This email (and similar) scams should be ignored to avoid the potential risks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this email is a phishing attempt designed to steal login credentials by directing recipients to a fake website. Falling for it can lead to account compromise, identity theft, and financial or reputational harm. Such emails should be ignored and deleted to prevent these risks. Sometimes, scam emails can be used to deliver malware.

Additional examples of similar scams are "cPanel Account Status Changed Email Scam", "Official Account Restriction Notification Email Scam", and "Fedex - Incoming Package Notification Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often distribute malware via email by attaching malicious files, such as infected documents, compressed files (ZIP, RAR, etc.), PDFs, executable files, scripts, and ISO files. Opening these files or following instructions inside them can activate the malware on a user's device.

These emails may also include links to unsafe or compromised websites. Simply visiting or interacting with these sites can lead to malware being downloaded, or users may be tricked into downloading and executing it themselves. In most cases, a device becomes infected only when the user interacts with a malicious file or link.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Only download software from official sources or trusted app stores, and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or keygens. Be cautious with unsolicited emails and other messages from unknown senders, and never open attachments or click links within them unless you are sure they are safe. Refrain from interacting with pop-ups, ads, buttons, or links on suspicious websites.

Do not allow untrustworthy sites to send notifications. Keep your operating system and apps up to date, and regularly scan your device with trusted security software to stay protected.

Text presented in the "Maintenance To Improve Server Performance" email letter:

Subject: Confirm you're not a robot

Dear ********,

We're performing routine maintenance to improve server performance and keep things running smoothly for everyone.

To help us confirm your account is in good standing, please take a quick moment to complete this simple step:

Complete Quick Check

Thank you for helping us maintain a great experience for all users.

Best regards,
******** Support
********

If the button doesn't work, use this link: ********

Fake website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Maintenance To Improve Server Performance 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 typically send these emails to large numbers of people without targeting anyone specifically. Email addresses are often gathered from data breaches or fraudulent websites.

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

Users should reset passwords if their account login information is exposed and notify the appropriate institutions if personal or financial data has been compromised.

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

Executable files and scripts carry a higher risk of infection, while documents such as PDFs or Word files are typically safe unless macros are enabled or other actions are taken. The level of risk depends on the type of malicious file.

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

Generally, receiving emails are harmless. Malware can infiltrate only when attachments are opened or links are clicked.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most malware, but advanced threats may remain hidden deep in the system, so performing a full scan is advisable.