Do not trust "Your device was not properly secured" scam emails

"Your device was not properly secured" email scam removal guide

What is the "Your device was not properly secured" email?

"Your device was not properly secured" is a scam email, claiming that all recipients' devices have been compromised and their data has been exfiltrated. Unless they pay the ransom, the messages threaten that there are serious consequences. Note that all information provided by "Your device was not properly secured" emails is false. Therefore, recipients' computers have not been infiltrated and their data has not been stolen.

"Your device was not properly secured" deceptive emails with the subject "nina28 - I got your info!" (the title might differ), claim that, due to recipients' devices being poorly secured, the senders have supposedly gained access to them. The messages state that recipients' private photos, videos, browsing histories, account log-in credentials (i.e. usernames and passwords), email and social network contacts have been extracted and exfiltrated. Unless recipients pay the ransom of US$525 USD in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency (BTC), this information will be misused in various ways. The emails threaten that the stolen content will thoroughly analyzed and used in dangerous ways, according to the findings. The deceptive messages give examples, such as vulnerable data being published online, sold on the darknet, or sent to the stolen contacts (e.g. relatives, friends, colleagues, management, etc.). The emails inform recipients that they have thirty hours to make the payment. As mentioned, all claims made by "Your device was not properly secured" emails are false. Therefore, these messages must simply be ignored.

Threat Summary:

Name	Your device was not properly secured Email Scam.
Threat Type	Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud.
Fake Claim	Emails claim that recipients' devices have been compromised and their data, stolen.
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.

Deceptive/Scam emails are distributed by the thousand, during large scale operations called "spam campaigns". These messages are typically disguised as "urgent", "important", "priority" and similar. They might even be disguised as mail from genuine institutions organizations, companies, service providers, and so on. "Server Notification Email Scam", "2020 EU/COMMONWEALTH LOTTO", and "Your Local Network Has Been Compromised" are some examples of other spam campaigns. Deceptive mail is also used for malware proliferation. Regardless of what scam emails claim, offer, request, demand or threaten, their purpose is identical: to generate revenue for the scammers/cyber criminals behind them.

How do spam campaigns infect computers?

Systems are infected via malicious files sent in spam campaigns. Infectious files can be attached to the scam emails and/or they can contain download links of such content. These files can be in various formats such as archives (ZIP, RAR, etc.), executables (.exe, .run, etc.), Microsoft Office and PDF documents, JavaScript, etc. When dangerous files are executed, run or otherwise opened, the infection process/chain (i.e. malware download/installation) is initiated. For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands. In MS Office versions released before 2010, infection processes begin when a malicious document is opened. Newer versions have "Protected View" mode, which prevents immediate malware download/installation - when opening a document, users are asked to enable macro commands (i.e. to enable editing/content). Therefore, in these later versions, the device can only be infected if the macros are enabled manually.

How to avoid installation of malware

You are advised against opening suspicious and/or irrelevant emails, especially those received from suspect/unknown senders. Any links or attachments found in dubious mail must never be opened, as doing so can result in a serious system infection. Additionally, you are advised to use Microsoft Office versions released after 2010, however, malicious programs are proliferated using various techniques. The most common distribution methods are via untrusted download sources (e.g. unofficial and free file-hosting sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks and other third party downloaders), illegal activation tools ("cracks") and bogus updates. Therefore, use official/verified download channels and activate and update programs with tools/functions provided by genuine developers. To protect device integrity and user safety, it is crucial to have reputable anti-virus/anti-spyware installed. This software must be kept up to date, used to run regular system scans and to remove detected/potential threats. 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 "Your device was not properly secured" email message:

Subject: nina28 - I got your info!

 

Please take this seriously!

 

If you think corona was a big threat for you, think again...

 

Your device was not properly secured and we managed to access your accounts and get private, sensitive and confidential information about you.

 

We have downloaded full list of your contacts from social networks and e-mail as well as your passwords, browsing history, private photos and videos.

 

We are not joking! If you don't believe us, take a look at this report:

 

hxxp://coronac0de.com/zip/...

 

Keep in mind, that this archive does not include all the data, but shows only a small portion of what we have really collected about you.

 

The sad thing is, that we will use this data against you in various ways, unless you make a B-1_t.c0.1.n (BTC) payment to us.

 

You have 30 hours for that.

 

[PAYMENT DETAILS ]
Sum to pay:
525 USD (U.S. dollars)

 

Our B-1_t.c0.1.n wallet address (BTC): (cAse-sEnSiTIve):
-
Keep in mind that it is anonymous payment transaction so nobody (except us) will ever know that you have paid for us.

 

Don't know how to buy them?
It's easy!
Enter in google:
"coinmama" or "buy coingate"
or visit the report site to see more options:
hxxp://coronac0de.com/zip/...

 

WHAT TO DO AFTER I MAKE A PAYMENT?
Wait until we verify the payment. Once we verify it, we will contact you.

 

WHAT IF I DONT MAKE A PAYMENT?

 

By now we have not looked at this data very closely as we believe that you are smart enough and will make a right decision to pay us.

 

We are professionals and we really don't want to cause you any trouble!

 

But if you don't make a payment, you will leave us no other choice and we will be forced to dig deeper.

 

We will carefully analyse the data and will find a best way how to use it to cause you the most damage.

 

Just think about it - we will be able to publish your sensitive data (like photos, videos or passwords) online, send it to your contacts (wife, boss, colleagues, friends, etc.) and/or sell it on a d@rknet.

 

Believe me - this can be wors thing in your life that you have ever experienced. You could be living in a fear forever.

 

Also, keep in mind, that we (or other geeks) will be able to use this security flaw again and again.

 

And each time we will rise the sum. So it is better to pay now and fix it.

 

It is up to you to decide! We can work for you or we can work against you. In any way, we will do our best.

 

We think that 525 USD is a very reasonable price to avoid such problems.

 

We give you 30 hours to react!

 

If you care about your reputation and life in general, the best solution is more than obvious.

Appearance of "Your device was not properly secured" scam email (GIF):

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Quick menu:

• What is Your Device Was Not Properly Secured 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.

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