How to identify scams like "Update/Upgrade On The Messaging Network"

What kind of email is "Update/Upgrade On The Messaging Network"?

After inspecting this email, we determined that it is a phishing scam. The message poses as an urgent notification from the recipient's email service provider, claiming that a system update has been completed and that the recipient's mailbox must be re-confirmed within 24 hours or it will be permanently deleted. It is designed to direct victims to a fraudulent login page where their email credentials are harvested. This email should be ignored.

More about the "Update/Upgrade On The Messaging Network" scam email

The email states that the company's messaging network has recently completed a system update or upgrade. It claims that some employees who have left the company are still actively using their registered mailboxes, and that the recipient must verify their account is in use and active.

A 24-hour deadline is imposed, with the warning that failure to re-confirm will result in the mailbox being removed or deleted from the server. A prominent button reading "CONFIRM IN USE - SIGN IN HERE" is included to push recipients toward the phishing page.

The linked website is designed to identify the recipient's email service provider based on their email address and mimic its login interface accordingly. In the example observed, the page presented a fake Gmail login form asking for a Google password. For users of other email providers, the site would adapt to display that provider's branding instead.

Any credentials entered on this page are sent directly to the attackers. A compromised email account can be exploited to access linked services, steal personal and financial data, and impersonate the victim to scam others.

It is worth noting that no legitimate email provider sends unsolicited re-confirmation requests of this kind. This scam has no affiliation with any genuine email service or technology company.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this is a phishing scam that impersonates the recipient's email service provider. It exploits urgency and the threat of account deletion to push victims into submitting their login credentials on a fake website. Recipients should disregard the email and avoid clicking any links it contains.

Sometimes, scams like this are also used to deliver malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are Email Account Disable Request, Zoho - Account Security Verification, and Chase - Verification To Protect Your Account.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is commonly distributed via email through malicious attachments. These can take many forms, including executable files, compressed archives, Office documents, PDFs, and script files. Opening such files, or in some cases enabling specific features like malicious macro commands, triggers the installation process.

Emails may also contain links leading to malicious sites that either silently download malware or prompt the user to run a harmful file. In most cases, the infection requires the user to take some action, such as clicking a link, opening a file, or interacting with a downloaded installer.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with any unsolicited email, especially those containing attachments or links. If a message seems suspicious or unexpected, do not open any files or follow any links within it.

Only download software from official websites and legitimate sources. Avoid pirated programs, software cracks, and key generators, as these are frequently bundled with malware. Keep the operating system and all installed software up to date to reduce exposure to known vulnerabilities.

Use a reputable security tool and keep it running in the background. If you have already interacted with a suspicious attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate any infiltrated malware.

A fake website used in this scam (imitating Gmail):

Text presented in the "Update/Upgrade On The Messaging Network" email letter:

Subject: Employee's Urgent re-confirmation needed for ********

Attention employee: ********

The system has just finished an update/upgrade on the ******** messaging network.
To our careful observation some employee's have left the company, but still using the mailbox registered to ********.

You are hereby urged to re-confirm your ******** is in usage and active.
Note if authentication is not received and relayed within 24 hours, your ******** will be Removed/Deleted from the Server ********

[CONFIRM ******** IN USE-SIGN IN HERE]

you may visit ******** to see email activity

© 2026 ******** All rights reserved.

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Quick menu:

• What is Update/Upgrade On The Messaging Network 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 mass-distributed and not personally targeted. Scammers collect email addresses through data breaches, fake websites, and similar methods, then send identical emails to large numbers of people at once.

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

If you entered your email login credentials, change the password for that account immediately and do the same for any other accounts where the same password was used. Contact the official support team of the affected service and check for any unauthorized activity.

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

It depends on the file type. Executable files generally compromise the system as soon as they are opened. Other formats such as Office documents or PDFs typically require additional interaction, for example enabling macros or running an embedded installer, before any malicious activity begins.

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

Simply reading an email does not cause infection. A system is only at risk if the user clicks a link, opens an attachment, or otherwise interacts with malicious content included in the message.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing the vast majority of known malware threats. Running a full system scan is important, as sophisticated threats may embed themselves deeply within the system and require thorough detection to be fully eliminated.