What is the "Email Account Is Currently Transmitting Viruses" email scam

What is "Email Account Is Currently Transmitting Viruses" scam?

We have inspected this email and determined that it is a phishing scam. It falsely claims that the recipient's email account is transmitting viruses and threatens deactivation unless the mailbox is "sanitized" through a linked website. The link leads to a fake login page designed to steal email credentials. This email should be ignored and deleted.

More about the "Email Account Is Currently Transmitting Viruses" scam email

The email claims to come from an "Email Administrator" and states that the recipient's mailbox is currently sending viruses to the provider's servers. It warns that the account will be deactivated if the issue is not resolved right away.

To fix the supposed problem, recipients are told to "sanitize" their mailbox using a service called Norton Web Cleaner. This is not a genuine Norton product; the name is borrowed only to make the message sound more trustworthy and urgent.

Clicking the button in the email opens a fraudulent page hosted on matsante[.]fr. This page does not show one fixed login form for every visitor. Instead, it checks the recipient's email address and displays a fake sign-in screen styled to match their own email provider.

In the sample we examined, the page presented a fake Gmail sign-in screen labeled "Gmail Session Expired!" and asked for the account password. Users of other providers would likely see a Yahoo, Outlook, or similarly themed imitation instead.

Any password typed into this fake form is sent directly to the scammers. With access to an email account, cybercriminals can read private messages, reset passwords for other linked services, impersonate the victim to their contacts, and use the mailbox to spread further scams. Norton, Gmail, Google, and any other provider imitated by this page have no association with this scam.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this email is a phishing scam disguised as an urgent notice from an email administrator. It aims to steal login credentials through a fake sign-in page that mimics the recipient's own email provider. Recipients should ignore the email and never enter a password on the linked page.

Sometimes, scams like this are used to deliver malware.

More examples of similar scam emails are Email Account Requires Re-Verification, Verify Your Email Property Information, and Proposal Evaluation Completed.

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 formats. Opening these files or enabling features like macros can allow malware to infect the device.

Emails may also include links to malicious websites. Visiting these sites can trigger automatic downloads or trick users into manually running harmful programs. In most cases, malware needs the user to interact with an attachment or link before the system is compromised.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Be cautious with emails, attachments, and links from unknown or unexpected senders, especially messages that pressure immediate action. Download software only from official sources and avoid pirated programs, cracks, or key generators, since these are common malware carriers.

Keep the operating system and installed applications up to date, and use reputable antivirus software. 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 "Email Account Is Currently Transmitting Viruses Scam" email letter:

Subject: Highly Important Information from Administration for ******** users.

Highly Important information from Administrator on Embassysuiteslib

Hi ********

Your email account is currently transmitting viruses to our servers and your account will be deactivated if you do not resolve this issue immediately.

You are now required to sanitize your email box using Norton Web Cleaner or your access to our email services will be terminated.

Failure to sanitize your email box immediately will lead to permanent deactivation of your account without warning.

[Sanitize your email account now!]

Thank you

Email Administrator for ********

A fake Gmail login page used in this scam, presented to the recipient after clicking the link in the email:

Instant automatic malware removal:

Manual threat removal might be a lengthy and complicated process that requires advanced IT skills. Combo Cleaner is a professional automatic malware removal tool that is recommended to get rid of malware. Download it by clicking the button below:

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Quick menu:

• What is Email Account Is Currently Transmitting Viruses 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?

These messages are usually generic and sent to a large number of people at once. Scammers typically gather email addresses through data breaches, fake websites, or similar methods, rather than targeting individuals specifically.

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

Change the password of the affected email account immediately, and update the password on any other account that used the same or a similar password. If banking or identification details were shared, contact the relevant institutions right away.

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. Documents, archives, and similar files usually require an extra step, such as enabling macros, before malware can activate.

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

Deceptive emails are harmless until a link is clicked or a file is opened. Simply reading this message, without entering any information on the linked page, does not put your computer at risk.

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

Combo Cleaner can detect and remove most known malware, but running a full system scan is necessary to ensure that more advanced or hidden threats are also found and eliminated.