Avoid losing your account stolen via fake "Email Is Due For Renewal" emails

What kind of email is "Email Is Due For Renewal"?

After inspecting "Email Is Due For Renewal", we determined that it is spam. This fake letter states that the recipient's mail has almost reached its storage limits and requires an upgrade. This spam campaign aims to deceive victims into entering their log-in credentials into a phishing website.

"Email Is Due For Renewal" email scam overview

The spam letter with the subject "[recipient's_email_address] Please confirm to continue." (may vary) informs the recipient that their email account is due to be renewed. The account's storage is close to reaching its limit, i.e., 2.46 GB used out of 2.5 GB. Because of this, it is no longer possible to send or receive emails.

It must be stressed that these claims are false, and this mail is not associated with any legitimate service providers or other entities.

When a recipient presses the link in the email, they are redirected to a phishing website disguised as a sign-in page. Log-in credentials entered into this site are recorded and sent to scammers.

The threat exceeds the loss of a single account, as emails are often used to register other content. Hence, through a hijacked email – cyber criminals might be able to gain access/control over linked accounts and platforms.

To expand some on the potential misuse: scammers can steal the identities of account owners (e.g., emails, social networking, social media, messengers, etc.) and request loans or donations from contacts/friends/followers, endorse scams, and proliferate malware by sharing malicious files/links.

Furthermore, stolen finance-related accounts (e.g., e-commerce, online banking, money transferring, digital wallets, etc.) can be used to make fraudulent transactions and online purchases.

To summarize, victims of scam mail like "Email Is Due For Renewal" can experience severe privacy issues, financial losses, and identity theft.

If you have already disclosed your log-in credentials – immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts and contact their official support.

Threat Summary:

Name	"Email Is Due For Renewal" phishing email
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Fake Claim	Email storage is close to its limit, and it is impossible to send/receive messages.
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of the computer.
Distribution methods	Deceptive emails, rogue online pop-up ads, search engine poisoning techniques, misspelled domains.
Damage	Loss of sensitive private information, monetary loss, identity theft.
Malware Removal (Windows)	To eliminate possible malware infections, scan your computer with legitimate antivirus software. Our security researchers recommend using Combo Cleaner. ▼ Download Combo Cleaner To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Phishing spam campaign examples

"WeTransfer - You Have Received Files", "SharePoint Invoice", "Yellow Tag", and "ShareFile - Advance Payment Approval" are merely some examples of phishing emails we have investigated. These types of letters predominantly target log-in credentials (usernames/passwords), personally identifiable details, and finance-related information.

However, other scams are endorsed through spam mail as well, and it is used to distribute malware. Due to how prevalent spam emails/messages are and how well-made they can be – we strongly advise caution with incoming mail.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Cyber criminals commonly use spam campaigns to spread malware. Deceptive emails/messages can include malicious files as attachments or download links. These files can be documents (e.g., Microsoft Office, Microsoft OneNote, PDF, etc.), archives (RAR, ZIP, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), JavaScript, and so forth.

Merely opening an infectious file can be enough to trigger the malware download/installation chain. However, some formats require additional actions to jumpstart these processes. For example, Microsoft Office files need users to enable macro commands (i.e., editing/content), while OneNote documents require them to click embedded files or links.

How to avoid installation of malware?

We recommend treating incoming emails, PMs/DMs, SMSes, and other messages with care. Do not open attachments or links found in suspect/irrelevant mail, as they can be malicious. It must be mentioned that malware is not proliferated exclusively via spam emails/messages.

Fraudulent and dangerous online content usually appears genuine and harmless – therefore, exercise caution while browsing.

Additionally, download only from official and verified sources. Activate and update software using legitimate functions/tools, as illegal activation ("cracking") tools and third-party updaters may contain malware.

It is essential for device integrity and user safety to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. Security programs must be used to perform regular system scans and to remove detected threats/issues. If you've 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 Is Due For Renewal" spam email letter:

Subject: - Please confirm to continue.

- is due for renewal.

2.46 GB 2.5 GB

Your mailbox can no longer send or receive messages. Click below to update your storage capacity.

UPDATE MY -

Mailbox SERVER: Ksng
Best Regards
Ksng

(C) 2024

Screenshot of the phishing website promoted by the "Email Is Due For Renewal" spam campaign:

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▼ DOWNLOAD Combo Cleaner By downloading any software listed on this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. To use full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Combo Cleaner. 7 days free trial available. Combo Cleaner is owned and operated by Rcs Lt, the parent company of PCRisk.com read more.

Quick menu:

• What is "Email Is Due For Renewal" 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?

Spam emails are not personal, even if they include details relevant to the recipients. Cyber criminals distribute this mail in large-scale campaigns – therefore, thousands of users receive identical messages.

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

If you have disclosed your log-in credentials – change the passwords of all possibly compromised accounts and inform their official support. However, if the provided information was of a different personal nature (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) – contact the appropriate authorities without delay.

I have read a spam email but didn't open the attachment, is my computer infected?

No, merely reading an email poses no infection threat. Devices are compromised when malicious attachments or links are opened.

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

If the opened file was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) – most likely, yes – the system was infected. However, you might have avoided this if it was a document (.doc, .xls, .pdf, .one, etc.). Some formats can require extra actions (e.g., enabling macro commands, clicking embedded files/links, etc.) to jumpstart malware download/installation processes.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate all kinds of threats. It is capable of removing most of the known malware infections. Remember that high-end malicious software usually hides deep within systems – hence, running a complete system scan is crucial.

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