What kind of scam is "Policy Violation Detected"

What is "Policy Violation Detected" scam?

We have inspected the email and found that it contains a fake notification claiming a policy violation was detected on the recipient's email account. It is a phishing email designed to steal email login credentials from unsuspecting individuals. It should be ignored to avoid having the account hijacked.

More about the "Policy Violation Detected" scam email

The email claims that the recipient's account has violated an unspecified policy and warns that access could be lost. It urges recipients to click a "Review Activity" button to check recent account activity before that supposedly happens. No actual violation occurred; the message is fabricated purely to create urgency and pressure people into clicking without stopping to think.

Clicking the link opens a fake login page. The site used in this scam, es4dr56tyuikdf6g-dp9xyf4hhc53.edgeone[.]dev, is built to identify the recipient's email service provider from information encoded in the link and mimic that provider's login screen. In the sample we examined, the page displayed a login box styled after Gmail, prompting the visitor to enter their email address and password.

Entering login credentials on this page sends them straight to the scammers. Since many people reuse the same password across multiple accounts, and email accounts are frequently used to reset passwords elsewhere, gaining access to just one inbox can let criminals hijack other accounts, steal personal data, and impersonate the victim to their contacts.

This scam is not limited to users of any single email provider. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other legitimate email services have no connection to this campaign. Their branding is copied without permission solely to make the fake page look trustworthy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this email is a phishing scam disguised as a policy violation warning from an email service provider. It aims to steal email login credentials through a fraudulent website. Recipients should ignore the email and avoid entering any information on the linked page to protect themselves from account hijacking and identity theft.

Sometimes, scams like this are used to deliver malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are Truist Security Alert, Purchase Order Shared With You Via Dropbox, and Cloudbeds Payment Details.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors often deliver malware via email by including malicious attachments. These can be executable files, Office documents, archives, PDFs, script files, and other file types. Opening these files or enabling certain features, like macros, can allow the malware to infect the device.

Emails may also include links to malicious websites. Visiting these sites can either trigger automatic downloads of malware or trick users into manually downloading and running harmful programs. Typically, malware requires the user to interact with these attachments or links in order to compromise the system.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with emails, attachments, and links from unknown senders, especially ones that create a sense of urgency or threaten loss of account access. Download software only from official sources, and avoid pirated software, cracks, and key generators, since these are common malware delivery methods.

Keep the operating system and installed applications up to date, and use reputable antivirus software with the latest detection updates. If you have already opened malicious attachments, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to automatically eliminate infiltrated malware.

Text presented in the "Policy Violation Detected" email letter:

Subject: Warning! Immediate action required!

Warning: Policy Violation Detected

Dear [Recipient],
We have detected activities that violated our policy on your account.

Don't risk losing access to your account. Click the button below to review recent activity now.

[Review Activity]

© 2026 All Rights Reserved
Legal Notices | Transparency Report

A fake email service provider login page used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Policy Violation Detected phishing scam?
• 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?

Cybercriminals send deceptive emails to large groups, using addresses gathered from security leaks, fake websites, and similar sources. Usually, these emails are not targeted at any specific person.

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

Change the password of the affected email account immediately, along with any other accounts that used the same password. If banking or identification details were also entered, contact the relevant institutions directly as soon as possible.

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

Executable files often launch malicious programs the moment they are opened, whereas documents, archives, or other file types generally require additional user interaction, such as enabling macros, before malware activates.

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

No, deceptive emails are only dangerous once a link is clicked or a file is opened. Your computer is not infected simply from reading the message.

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

Combo Cleaner is capable of detecting and removing a wide range of malware, though more advanced threats may sometimes evade detection. Performing a full system scan improves the likelihood of identifying and eliminating any threats present.