How to avoid falling for the "Security Verification - Confirm You're Not A Robot" email scam

What kind of email is "Security Verification - Confirm You're Not A Robot"?

After inspecting this email, we concluded that it is a phishing scam. The message impersonates a security alert from cPanel's Webmail Security Portal, falsely claiming unusual account activity to trick recipients into submitting their login credentials on a fraudulent website. This email should be ignored to prevent account compromise.

"Security Verification - Confirm You're Not A Robot" email scam overview

The email claims to come from cPanel's Webmail Security Portal and warns that unusual activity has been detected on the recipient's account. It states that identity verification is required within 24 hours to avoid service disruption.

Recipients are presented with two buttons: "Ignore for now" and "Verify identity now." The 24-hour deadline and the threat of account disruption are pressure tactics intended to rush victims into clicking the link without scrutinizing the message.

Clicking the verification link leads to a fake Roundcube Webmail login page that collects a full email address and password. The page is hosted on a legitimate cloud storage service, which lends the URL a misleading appearance of trustworthiness.

Credentials submitted on this page are handed directly to the attackers. With a compromised email account, scammers can access private correspondence, reset passwords on linked services, steal sensitive data, and use the hijacked inbox to send further phishing emails to the victim's contacts.

cPanel, Inc. has no connection to this scam. The company's name and branding were used without authorization to lend the message a false sense of credibility.

Similar scam emails in general

In conclusion, this is a phishing email disguised as a cPanel webmail security alert. It directs recipients to a fake Roundcube login page to steal their credentials. Ignoring the email entirely is the safest course of action. In some cases, similar scam emails are also used to deliver malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are Domain Renewal Reminder, cPanel Account Upgrade Notice, and Quotation And Technical Details.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cybercriminals commonly deliver malware through email by including malicious attachments or links to harmful pages. Attached files can take many forms, including executable programs, Office or PDF documents, archives, and scripts, and they vary in how much user interaction is needed to trigger an infection.

Executables typically begin running malware as soon as they are opened. Documents often require the recipient to take a secondary step, such as enabling malicious macro commands, before anything harmful activates. Links in emails can redirect to pages that automatically push malware downloads or present fake installers.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Exercise caution with any unsolicited email, particularly those containing attachments or links. Before clicking anything, verify that the sender is who they claim to be by checking their actual address against official contact information for the organization.

Download software only from official sources and trusted distribution channels. Avoid pirated content, cracked applications, and key generators, all of which are commonly used to distribute malware. Keep your operating system and installed programs updated so known vulnerabilities are patched promptly.

Use a reliable security tool and keep it up to date. If you have already interacted with a suspicious file or link, run a full system scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to detect and remove any threats that may have been installed.

Text presented in the "Security Verification - Confirm You're Not A Robot" email letter:

Subject: [********]: Please confirm to continue.

SECURITY VERIFICATION      cPanel®
Confirm You're Not a Robot

Our security system has detected unusual activity on your account for the Webmail Security Portal and requires verification in 24 hours.

To maintain uninterrupted access to your account on ******** and avoid service disruption, please select one of the options below:

[Ignore for now]      [Verify identity now]

SECURITY NOTICE: This message contains confidential verification information. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact ******** and delete this communication.

COMPLIANCE: Human verification required per anti-bot policies. Automated activity is monitored.

© ******** Secure Verification | All Rights Reserved

A fake Roundcube Webmail page used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Security Verification - Confirm You're Not A Robot spam campaign?
• 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?

Scam emails are sent in large batches to many recipients at once. Attackers collect addresses through data breaches, fake sign-up forms, and similar methods. The emails are not personally targeted.

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

Change the password for any account that may have been exposed as soon as possible. If the same credentials were reused on other services, update those as well. Contact your email provider's support team to report the incident.

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

Executable files (.exe and similar) typically initiate an infection immediately upon being opened. Other file types, such as Office documents or PDFs, often require a secondary action like enabling macros before malware is triggered.

Whether your system is infected depends on the file type and how you interacted with it.

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

No. Reading an email without opening attachments or clicking links does not expose your device to infection. Your computer is safe as long as you did not interact with the email's content.

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

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate most known malware threats. Running a full system scan is important, as sophisticated infections can sometimes conceal themselves in less obvious locations on the system.