Avoid clicking links in the "new sign-in on email" scam
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is the New sign-in on email scam?
Phishing emails are used to trick recipients into clicking a website link or opening an attachment, which then installs malware onto the operating system or opens a web page that cyber criminals use to steal sensitive, private information (e.g., login credentials, credit card details, telephone numbers, names, surnames, and so on). This particular email is used to trick recipients into providing email account credentials.
Email service providers send emails stating that a suspicious sign-in was prevented (or similar notification) when they block attempts to access email accounts from different locations, devices, etc. In this way, email providers notify users of unusual sign-in activities.
Scammers behind this phishing email attempt to trick recipients into believing that this is a legitimate email regarding a sign-in on MailApp. It encourages users to reset their passwords via the provided website link if it was not them who signed into the MailApp.
The link in this email opens a fake MailApp sign-in page asking users to enter their email account login credentials (email address and password) to access the accounts.
To summarize, cyber criminals attempt to deceive recipients into believing that they need to change their MailApp passwords to prevent their accounts from being stolen. In fact, the provided login credentials are used to steal the accounts.
Typically, cyber criminals use stolen email accounts to spread phishing emails, trick other people into providing personal information, making money transactions, etc. Stolen accounts are commonly sold on the darknet, or their login credentials are used to perform brute-force attacks (to steal other accounts using the same or similar login credentials).
All of this can be avoided by NOT clicking links in suspicious emails or providing personal information on unofficial, dubious websites.
| Name | New Sign-In On Email Scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Email account was used to sign into MailApp |
| Disguise | A letter from email service provider |
| 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. |
More examples of phishing emails (used to trick recipients into clicking links or opening attachments, which infect the operating system with malware or open deceptive web pages) are "Banco De Espana", "Email Disabling Service", "Budapest Bank Email Virus", and "Ministero Dello Sviluppo Economico Email Virus".
These bogus emails are usually disguised as important, official messages from legitimate companies and organizations. Some examples of malware that cyber criminals spread via emails are TrickBot, Ursnif, LokiBot, and Emotet.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Systems are often infected via malicious files distributed through spam campaigns. These files can be attached and/or linked inside the emails. Infectious files can be in various formats (e.g. Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archive and executable files, JavaScript, etc.).
When these files are executed, run or otherwise opened, the infection process (i.e. malware download/installation) is triggered. For example, Microsoft Office documents (e.g. "Invoice_24077.xlsb") cause infections by executing malicious macro commands.
In Microsoft Office versions released prior to 2010, malware download/installation begins when an infectious document is opened, however, newer versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents automatic execution of macros. Instead, users are asked to enable macro commands (i.e., to enable editing/content) and hence infection processes can only be started by manually enabling macros.
How to avoid installation of malware
Do not trust irrelevant emails that have files attached (or contain website links) and are received from unknown, suspicious addresses. Software should not be downloaded or installed through third party downloaders, installers, unofficial pages or other similar sources/tools.
Use only official websites and direct links. Installed software should never be updated or activated with third party, unofficial tools, since they can install malware. Furthermore, it is illegal to use third party tools to activate licensed software.
The only legitimate way to update and activate software is to use tools and functions that are provided by the official developers. Regularly scan your computer with reputable antivirus or anti-spyware software and keep this software up to date.
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 new sign-in on email scam:
Subject: New sign-in on Email
Hi Customer,
Your email account ******** was just used to sign in on MailApp.
If you did this, you're all set.
If not, please use this link to stop sharing, and then create a new password.
Thanks,******** Support
Replies sent to this email cannot be answered.
Screenshot of the deceptive sign-in page:
Yet another example of a new sign-in-themed spam email promoting a phishing site:
Text presented within:
Subject: New sign-in Attempt on your ********
********
A new sign-in on Window
********
We noticed a new sign-in to your ********Account on a Windows device. If this was you, you don’t need to do anything. If not, we’ll help you secure your account.
Check activity
You can also see security activity at
-
You received this email to let you know about important changes to your Google Account and services.
© 2022 ********LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:
Yet another example of an email from "New Sign-In On" spam campaign:
Text presented within:
Subject: We noticed a new sign-in to your ********
This is a copy of a security alert sent to AOL.com.******** is the recovery email for this account. If you don't recognize this account, remove it.
A new sign-in on ********
********
We noticed a new sign-in to your ******** Account on a Apple iPhone device. If this was you, you don’t need to do anything. If not, we’ll help you secure your account.
Check activity
You can also see security activity at
hxxps://AOL.com/notifications
You received this email to let you know about important changes to your AOL.com Account and services.
© 2023 Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA
Screenshot of the promoted phishing site:
Another example of an email from "New Sign-In On" spam campaign:
Text presented within:
Subject: A new sign-in on a new device
A new sign-in on a new device
-
We noticed a new sign-in to your Account on a new device. If this was you, you don’t need to do anything. If not, we’ll help you secure your account.
Check activity
You received this email to let you know about important changes to your Account and services.
© 2023 - LLC
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Quick menu:
- What is New Sign-In On 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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