Avoid getting scammed by fake emails regarding issues with your AOL account

What is "AOL Email Scam"?

"AOL Email Scam" is another spam email campaign used by cyber criminals. Unlike most of these campaigns, which attempt to trick users into downloading/installing malware or sending money to cyber criminals, "AOL Email Scam" attempts to trick them into entering AOL email account credentials.

This method is called phishing. Criminals send thousands of deceptive email messages stating that users' accounts are about to be "shutdown" and encourage them to cancel the process. This is all simply a scam.

"AOL Email Scam" overview

"AOL Email Scam" emails state that AOL Mail administrators have recently received an account-deletion request from the user. It is also stated that if this is a mistake and the account is not required to be deleted, the user must cancel the entire process by clicking the link provided. Be aware, however, that the link address leads to a fake AOL Mail website containing a login screen.

When users enter their login/password information, the details are immediately saved to a remote server and cyber criminals gain access to their accounts. Be aware that AOL Mail is a legitimate service/company and has nothing to do with this spam campaign.

Cyber criminals simply claim to be employees of this company and send thousands of deceptive emails hoping that some people will fall for the scam and enter their account credentials.

Hijacked accounts can be misused in various ways: criminals might attempt to borrow money from victims' contacts, hijack other accounts via the "restore password" function, send deceptive messages to other people, and so on.

Therefore, being hijacked in this way can lead to privacy issues, financial loss, and even identity theft. For these reasons, you should ignore all "AOL Email Scam" emails.

Threat Summary:

Name	AOL Email Scam
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud
Symptoms	Unauthorized online purchases, changed online account passwords, identity theft, illegal access of one's 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.

Spam campaigns in general

There are hundreds of spam campaigns online. For example, Yоu May Not Know Mе Email Scam, Wе Arе Nоt Going To Steal A Lot Of Time Email Scam, Y.E DESIGN Email Virus, and Christmas Greetings Email Virus. Some are used to extort money from gullible users by threatening them. In most cases, cyber criminals use the so-called "sextortion" method.

They claim that they have hijacked the computer webcam and microphone, and recorded the victim "masturbating". They state that they will share the video with all of the victim's contacts unless a ransom (which typically fluctuates between $500 and $1000, in Bitcoins or another cryptocurrency) is paid.

Unfortunately, many users are tricked into paying even though no such videos actually exist. Other spam campaigns proliferate high-risk viruses, such as Emotet, Adwind, Hancitor, FormBook, etc.

These contain malicious attachments designed to infect computers. Infiltrated viruses typically record personal data (saved logins/passwords, browsing history, keystrokes, etc.) and open "backdoors". Viruses of this type pose a significant threat to your privacy and computer safety.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

As mentioned, spam campaigns that distribute viruses contain malicious attachments (e.g., PDF files, Microsoft Office documents, executables, archives, etc.), however, the attachment must be downloaded and opened before it can do any harm. Therefore, the user's manual intervention is required.

If the attachment is an MS Office document, it usually asks to enable macro commands that download and install malware. Executables must be opened manually. Note that lack of knowledge of these threats and careless behavior are the main reasons for these infections.

How to avoid installation of malware?

The key to computer safety is caution. To prevent these infections, be very cautious when browsing the internet. Think twice before opening any email attachment. Files/links that are irrelevant and those received from suspicious/unrecognizable email addresses should never be opened. If you receive such messages, delete them immediately.

Furthermore, have a reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware suite installed and running. These tools can detect and eliminate malware before it performs any malicious actions and the presence of this software is essential when trying to protect the system from viruses.

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 "AOL Email Scam" email message:

AOL Message

Dear User,
Our record indicates that you recently made a request to shutdown your email. And this request will be processed shortly.
If this request was made accidentally and you have no knowledge of it, you are advised to cancel the request now

Cancel De-activation

However, if you do not cancel this request,your account will be shutdown shortly
and all your email data will be lost permanently.
Regards.
Email Administrator

This message is aut-generated from E-mail security server, and replies sent to this email can not be delivered.
This email meant for: only user

Screenshot of the fake AOL website:

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Quick menu:

• What is AOL spam?
• 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 sent by the thousand; they are not personal.

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

If you've disclosed account log-in credentials - immediately change the passwords of all potentially compromised accounts. And if you have provided other private data to the scammers (e.g., ID card details, credit card numbers, etc.) - contact the relevant authorities without delay.

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

No, reading a spam email will not trigger any system infection processes. Malware download/installation begins only after the attachments or links present in these emails - are opened/clicked.

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

Whether an infection was initiated might depend on the file's format. If it was an executable (.exe, .run, etc.) - most likely, yes - your system was infected. However, document formats (.doc, .exe, .pdf, etc.) may require additional user interaction (e.g., enabling macro commands) to start downloading/installing malware.

Will Combo Cleaner remove malware infections present in email attachments?

Yes, Combo Cleaner can detect and eliminate nearly all known malware infections. It has to be stressed that performing a full system scan is essential - since sophisticated malicious programs usually hide deep within systems.

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