How to identify scams like "PayPal - Access From A New Device"

What is "PayPal - Access From A New Device" scam?

We have inspected the email and found that it is disguised as a message from PayPal. The email seems important and urgent, but it is actually a scam. The goal is to trick recipients into opening a fake website and disclosing personal information. Falling for this scam can result in account hijacking and additional problems.

More about the "PayPal - Access From A New Device" scam email

This email claims that a PayPal account has been restricted after an unusual login attempt from a new device or website. It alleges that access was requested from a device running Chrome on Windows, with a location in Italy and a specific IP address (some of the fabricated details may vary).

It states that the account holder must verify their information in order to restore access. Also, it suggests that if the recipient did not authorize the activity, they should immediately update their account through a provided link labeled "Update My Account". This link opens a fake PayPal login site designed to steal email addresses and passwords (login details).

Scammers can use this information to access PayPal accounts and then steal money, make fraudulent purchases, and extract additional personal information. They may also use stolen login information to access social media, gaming, or other accounts. Overall, this scam email should not be trusted to prevent financial loss, identity theft, or other issues.

Conclusion

The email is a phishing attempt pretending to be a security alert from PayPal. It is designed to appear legitimate and urgent to trick recipients into clicking a fake link and sharing login information. The goal is to steal account credentials. Sometimes, scams like this can lead to system infections.

More examples of similar scams are "Social Security Administration (SSA) eStatement", "RAM Shipment On Hold", and "Cloud Storage Plan Has Been Paused".

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is often delivered through email attachments. These can be compressed files like ZIP or RAR archives, documents such as PDFs or Office files, scripts, or executables, which may trigger infection once opened or further interacted with (e.g., after enabling macros in an infected MS Office file).

Emails can also include links to fake or compromised websites. These sites may secretly download malware or deceive users into downloading and launching it themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Software and operating systems should always be kept up to date. Applications should be downloaded only from trusted platforms, such as official websites or verified app stores, and cracked or pirated programs should be avoided.

Irrelevant and unexpected emails from unfamiliar senders should be treated carefully, and any links or attached files should not be opened. On unsafe or questionable websites, it is important to avoid clicking pop-ups, advertisements, and shady pages that should never be allowed to send notifications.

Text presented in the "PayPal - Access From A New Device" email letter:

Subject: Nach einer ungewöhnlichen Anmeldung wurde Ihr Konto eingeschränkt und Sie müssen Ihre Informationen überprüfen, um es wieder freizuschalten.

PayPal

Access a new device

A device or website that we do not know request access to your account :

Location: Italy
IP Adress : 2.47.255.255
Navigator : Chrome (Windows)

If you were not please update your account information from the link below:

Update My Account

If you are not responsible for this operation, contact us support@paypal.com.

Fake website used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is PayPal - Access From A New Device 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?

Scammers often distribute identical messages to large numbers of recipients simultaneously. They typically obtain email addresses from leaked data, fraudulent websites, or other sources.

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

If there is any indication that passwords have been exposed, they should be updated immediately. When sensitive financial or personal data is involved, the affected services should be informed, and the incident may also need to be reported to the proper authorities.

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

Opening an infected executable file can immediately compromise a device. Other formats, like PDFs or Word documents, may also become dangerous if the user enables certain features. The likelihood of infection depends on the type of file and the way it is used.

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

Infection occurs only when a user interacts with files or links, so opening an email is not dangerous if its contents are left unopened.

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

Combo Cleaner can identify and remove many types of known malware. However, certain advanced infections may hide deep within the system, which can make them harder to detect during a quick check. Because of this, a full system scan is recommended to ensure detection.