What kind of scam is "Email Address Re-verification"

What kind of email is "Email Address Re-verification Scam"?

We examined this email and determined it is a phishing scam. The message falsely claims that recipients must re-verify their email address to prevent their account from going dormant. It is designed to steal webmail login credentials and should be ignored.

More about the "Email Address Re-verification Scam" email

The email presents itself as an urgent notice from the service desk of everstoneminerals.com. It warns that email addresses on the site need to be re-verified, and that the recipient's account will become dormant if they fail to act. A button labeled "Verify Email Now" is included to create a false sense of urgency.

Clicking the button leads to a fake cPanel login page hosted on listoyo[.]com, a legitimate website that appears to have been compromised and repurposed to host the phishing page. The URL passes the victim's email address as a parameter, and the login form pre-fills the username field accordingly.

Any login credentials entered on that page are sent directly to the scammers. With access to a compromised email account, they can read private messages, reset passwords on other services, lock the rightful owner out, and use the inbox to send further scam emails to the victim's contacts.

Everstoneminerals.com has no connection to this scam. Scammers simply used that domain name to make the email appear more credible. The message was not sent by that company or on its behalf.

Similar scam emails in general

In summary, this is a credential-phishing email disguised as a routine account security notice. Its sole purpose is to capture webmail login details through a fraudulent page. Such emails may also be used to spread malware.

More examples of similar credential-phishing emails we have analyzed are Set Your Password To Avoid Database Loss, App Passwords Need To Be Updated, and Telstra ID Sign-In.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Threat actors often distribute malware through email by attaching malicious files or including links to download pages. The attachments can take many forms - executable files, archives, PDF documents, Office documents, and script files, among others.

When these files are opened, or when the user takes an action like enabling malicious macro commands inside a document, malware installation can begin. Links in spam emails can also lead to websites that trigger automatic downloads without further interaction.

How to avoid installation of malware?

Exercise caution with unexpected emails, especially those containing links or attachments. Do not open files sent from unknown senders, and be wary of messages that create urgency or pressure to act immediately, even when they appear to come from a familiar source.

Only download software from official developer websites or reputable app stores. Avoid pirated applications, key generators, and third-party installers, as these often serve as delivery vehicles for malware. Keeping your operating system and all installed programs up to date is also important.

Use a reliable antivirus solution and keep it running at all times. Be cautious about granting websites permission to display browser notifications, as this can be exploited to serve deceptive alerts. If you have already opened a suspicious attachment, we recommend running a scan with Combo Cleaner Antivirus for Windows to remove any installed threats.

Text presented in the "Email Address Re-verification Scam" email letter:

Subject: Account expiration confirmation.

Hello ********,

For security reasons, the everstoneminerals.com users need to re-verify their email addresses. Unfortunately, we haven't detected your email verification yet, so your account will become dormant.

In order to have it verified, please click right now on the button below and reactivate your account.

[Verify Email Now]

******** Service desk

A fake cPanel webmail login page used in this scam:

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Quick menu:

• What is Email Address Re-verification 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 not sent to any one person in particular. Scammers send them in bulk to lists of email addresses collected through data breaches, fake sign-up forms, and similar methods. The same email goes out to thousands of recipients at a time.

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

Change the password on any account whose credentials may have been compromised. If the same password is used on other services, update those too. Contact the official support of the affected service and keep an eye on your accounts for any unauthorized activity.

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

It depends on the file type. Executable files can infect a device immediately when run. Files like PDFs or Office documents generally need the user to take an additional step - such as enabling macros - before any malware can activate.

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

No. Simply reading or viewing an email does not cause infection. Malware only gets a foothold when the user opens an attachment, clicks a harmful link, or otherwise interacts with malicious content.

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

Combo Cleaner is designed to detect and eliminate most known malware. That said, some sophisticated threats can be difficult to catch, so performing a full system scan is important for thorough detection and removal.