How to spot scams like "Problem With Email Account Due To Server Upgrade"

What kind of scam is "Problem With Email Account Due To Server Upgrade"?

We have reviewed the email and concluded that it is a phishing attempt disguised as an important notification from the email service provider. It contains a link to a phishing site (a fake login page) designed to steal personal information. Falling for this scam can result in account hijacking and further issues.

More about the "Problem With Email Account Due To Server Upgrade" scam email

This scam email claims there is a problem with the recipient's email account due to a recent server upgrade. It warns that failing to re-verify the account could result in data loss or email errors. The message pressures the recipient to fix the issue within 48 hours. It implies that the server administrator will not be responsible for any data loss if the action is not taken.

The "Re-verify email" button/link provided in this scam email leads to a fake email account login site. On this page, visitors are instructed to enter their email account login credentials (email address and password) to "log in". However, the information is sent directly to scammers.

Once scammers have these details, they can use them to hijack email accounts. These accounts can be exploited to harvest sensitive information, send scam emails, distribute malware, or perform other malicious activities. Also, fraudsters might attempt to access other accounts (e.g., banking or social media) using the obtained details.

Other accounts can be misused for malicious purposes, including the theft of money or identities. Thus, it is important to recognize fraudulent emails and ignore them.

Conclusion

Scammers behind this email attempt to trick recipients into revealing their email login credentials. The provided re-verification link leads to a fake login page where submitted credentials are captured by scammers. Once obtained, these credentials can be used to hijack email accounts and other online accounts, potentially leading to identity theft, financial loss, and further malicious activity.

It is worth noting that scam emails can also be used to trick recipients into downloading malware on their devices. Some examples of scam emails are "Johnson & Johnson Quotation Request Email Scam", "Plesk - Resource Usage Limits Email Scam", and "Monthly Employee Paylist Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Emails used to deliver malware can contain links or attachments. Files attached to such emails can infect computers when opened or when additional steps are taken. Cybercriminals often use malicious documents (e.g., Word, Excel, or PDF files), executables, archives (e.g., ZIP or RAR), ISO files, or scripts to distribute malware.

Links in emails can take recipients to compromised or malicious websites that automatically download malware or trick users into downloading and running it on their devices.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be careful with unexpected emails or messages from unknown senders, and only open attachments or click links if you are sure they are not malicious. Avoid interacting with pop-ups, ads, buttons, or links on shady websites, and block notifications from dubious sites.

stores, and never use pirated programs, cracks, or key generators. Keep your operating system and applications up to date, and run regular scans using reliable security software.

Text presented in the "Problem With Email Account Due To Server Upgrade" email letter:

Subject: [********]: Pay attention to verification

Dear ********

There may be a problem with your email account

Due to our recent server upgrade.

Please re-verify to avoid data loss and email errors

Re-verify email

If you fail to verify within 48 hours, the server administrator will not be responsible for any data loss

Fake website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Problem With Email Account Due To Server Upgrade 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?

These messages are typically sent to large numbers of people without targeting, using email addresses collected from data breaches and fake or compromised websites.

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

If an account's login information or other sensitive data has been exposed, users should promptly change their passwords and notify the relevant institutions if other information (e.g., credit card details or ID information) has been stolen.

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

Executable files and scripts can launch malware immediately upon opening. Documents are usually safer unless users enable features such as macros. The likelihood of infection depends on the format of the file.

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

The risk comes from interacting with the contents of the email, such as attachments or malicious links, not from the email itself. Simply opening an email is not dangerous.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing most malware, yet advanced threats might survive, requiring a complete system scan.