How to spot scams like "Ledger - Suspicious DEX Activity Detected"

What is the fake "Ledger - Suspicious DEX Activity Detected" email?

We have examined the email and discovered that it is a scam. It is presented as a message (a security alert) from Ledger, a legitimate company that produces hardware wallets for cryptocurrency. The scammers behind this deceptive email aim to trick recipients into opening a fake website and entering personal details. Falling for this scam can lead to financial loss.

More about the "Ledger - Suspicious DEX Activity Detected" scam email

The email is disguised as an urgent security alert from Ledger about suspicious decentralized exchange activity on the recipient's wallet. It provides fake details, such as detection time, network name, transaction type, contract address, involved amount, and status, to make the warning appear legitimate.

The message claims the activity matches known phishing attempts targeting Ledger users and urges immediate action, including verifying the router address, revoking token approvals via Revoke.cash or Etherscan, checking for suspicious browser extensions, and reviewing activity in Ledger Live.

The provided link (labeled "Review Activity in Ledger Live") is supposed to open a fake Ledger website. However, during our inspection, the site was down. The purpose of this scam is likely to trick users into revealing sensitive information, such as private keys, recovery phrases, or login credentials.

Once entered, attackers can use this information to gain control of the victim's wallet and steal crypto. Recovering stolen cryptocurrency is extremely difficult because crypto transactions cannot be reversed. Once funds are sent to a scammer's wallet, they are usually lost permanently.

It is essential to verify that any cryptocurrency platform is legitimate before engaging with it.

Conclusion

This scam is a phishing attempt designed to trick recipients into visiting a fake Ledger site and revealing sensitive wallet information. Falling for it can result in permanent loss of cryptocurrency, as transactions cannot be reversed. Users should always verify the legitimacy of cryptocurrency platforms and avoid interacting with unexpected links or messages.

It is important to mention that sometimes fraudulent emails can be used to deliver malicious software. More examples of phishing emails are "cPanel System Maintenance Email Scam", "Quarantine Report For Your Zoho Account Email Scam", and "One Time Password Authentication Email Scam".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals often send emails with malicious attachments disguised as legitimate files, including Word, Excel, or PDF documents, scripts, ZIP or RAR archives, and executables. Opening these files or enabling features like macros in Office documents can trigger hidden malware to run, infecting the system.

Emails may also include links to fake or compromised websites. Clicking these links can either initiate automatic malware downloads or prompt the user to download and run a harmful file or program manually.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Exercise caution with unexpected emails or messages, particularly those that include attachments or links (do not open them if they seem suspicious). Do not click on ads, pop-ups, or links on questionable websites, and never allow such sites to send notifications. Keep your operating system and applications up to date.

Perform regular scans with trusted security software, download software from official websites or reputable app stores, and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or unauthorized activation tools.

The appearance of "Ledger - Suspicious DEX Activity Detected" scam email (GIF):

Text presented in the "Ledger - Suspicious DEX Activity Detected" email letter:

Subject: CRITICAL ALERT: Ѕսѕрісіοսѕ асtіⅴіtу ⅾеtесtеⅾ оո уοսr ԝаⅼⅼеt

LEDGER

Suspicious DEX Activity Detected

Unusual transaction pattern identified on your connected wallet - Immediate review required

Our security system has detected potentially suspicious activity involving your Ledger-protected wallet on a decentralized exchange. This may indicate an attempt to compromise your assets.
Uniswap v3 Router Interaction HIGH RISK ACTIVITY
Time Detected Today, 14:32 UTC
Network Ethereum Mainnet
Transaction Type Unlimited Token Approval
Contract Address 0xC36442b4a4522E871399CD717aBD..1a3b
Assets Involved 12.5 ETH → 38,450 USDC
Wallet Address 0x742d35Cc6634C0532925a3b..C891
Gas Fee 0.034 ETH ($120.50)
Status Pending Approval
Immediate Action Required

This activity pattern matches known phishing attempts targeting Ledger users. The transaction requests unlimited token approvals to a suspicious contract address. If you did not initiate this transaction, your assets may be at risk.
Recommended Actions

If you initiated this transaction:
Verify that you're interacting with the legitimate Uniswap v3 router (0xE592427A0AEce92De3Edee1F18E0157C05861564). If unsure, revoke the approval immediately.

If this activity is unexpected:

Immediately revoke token approvals using Revoke.cash or Etherscan
Check for suspicious browser extensions or compromised dApps

Review Activity in Ledger Live Learn About DEX Security

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Quick menu:

• What is Ledger - Suspicious DEX Activity Detected fake alert?
• 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?

Most scam emails are sent to many recipients at once and usually do not target a specific individual. The addresses used are often collected from leaked databases or fraudulent websites.

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

Change the passwords or other compromised login credentials for any potentially affected accounts and notify your bank or the appropriate authorities if your financial information could have been exposed.

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

Infected executable files can immediately compromise a device when opened. Other types of files, such as documents, generally become dangerous only if the user performs additional actions, like enabling macros. The risk of infection depends on both the file type and how the user interacts with it.

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

Simply opening a scam email is usually harmless. Your device is at risk of infection only if you click on links or download and run attached files.

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

Combo Cleaner can remove the majority of threats, but performing a full system scan is advised to detect any hidden or advanced malware.