How to spot scams like "Account Update Notice"

What is the fake "Account Update Notice"?

Our team has determined that this is a phishing attempt disguised as an important notification from an email service provider. It is designed to trick recipients into believing that they need to take certain actions to avoid potential issues with their email accounts. The goal is to steal personal information through a fraudulent page.

More about the "Account Update Notice" scam email

The email claims an important update has been made to the email service policy and urges the recipient to review the attached document to keep their account active and uninterrupted. It is presented as a routine account notice and encourages immediate action to avoid potential issues.

It also includes an attachment masquerading as a policy document. Once opened, this file displays a fake email account login website designed to trick visitors into entering their email addresses and passwords. Scammers can misuse these details to hijack email accounts and misuse them to gather information, send scam emails, distribute malicious files or software, etc.

Also, fraudsters may try to access other accounts, including social media, financial, or gaming services. If accessed, those accounts may be used to steal money or data, commit identity theft, or for other malicious purposes. Therefore, questionable emails should be examined before opening files or links or disclosing personal information.

Conclusion

Overall, this email is a phishing attempt created to trick users into opening a malicious attachment. The attached file leads to a fraudulent login page designed to steal email credentials. If successful, scammers can hijack accounts, steal personal data or money, and perform other malicious actions.

Sometimes, deceptive emails can be used to distribute malware. Examples of scam emails similar to the one we reviewed are "Wells Fargo - Merchant Charges Refund", "Webmail Application Will Be Discontinued", and "PayPal - Access From A New Device"

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Malware is often delivered via email attachments that appear legitimate, such as Office documents, PDFs, archives, scripts, or executables. Devices can become infected after opening infected files, enabling macros, or taking other actions while malicious files are opened.

Threat actors may also use deceptive links in emails that direct users to fake or compromised webpages. These sites can either trigger an unwanted download automatically or trick users into downloading and running harmful programs themselves.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with email attachments and links, especially if the message is unexpected or from an unknown sender. Download software and files only from official websites or trusted app stores, avoiding cracked, pirated, or unofficial versions. Make sure your operating system, browser, and applications are regularly updated.

Use reputable antivirus or anti-malware software and perform regular full system scans. Be careful when browsing unfamiliar or suspicious websites - do not interact with pop-ups, links, buttons, or ads on them.

Text presented in the "Account Update Notice" email letter:

Subject: Action Required #014210: Confirm Updated Policy for Your-********

Account Update Notice

Hello,

We've made an important update to our email service policy.

Please open and review the attached document to make sure your account stays fully updated and continues to work without any interruptions.
Attachment: Updated Policy Document

Taking a moment to review it now will help avoid any issues with your account later.

This is an automated message. No reply is needed.

Fake login form used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Account Update Notice 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 emails to large groups of people at once. They typically gather email addresses from data breaches or compromised, fake, or illegitimate websites.

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

If account credentials are exposed, they should be updated immediately. When personal or financial data has been compromised, the relevant service providers (and authorities) should be notified.

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

Whether a device becomes infected depends on both the file type and what the user does with it. Harmful executables can trigger instant infection, while documents may only become unsafe if macros or similar features are enabled.

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

An email itself cannot infect a device just by being opened. Infection occurs only when the user takes action, like downloading and opening an infected attachment or following a malicious link.

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

Combo Cleaner helps detect and remove various malware infections. In some cases, more advanced threats may conceal themselves within systems, making detection more challenging. A full system scan is therefore recommended.