Do not trust fake Instagram emails
Written by Tomas Meskauskas on (updated)
What is "Instagram email scam"?
"Instagram email scam" refers to a spam campaign. The letters distributed through this campaign are disguised as notifications from the Instagram social media platform. These fake emails aim to promote various questionable websites.
"Instagram email scam" in detail
There are several variants of the "Instagram" scam emails. They notify recipients that they have received a message on Instagram. The message excerpts vary, as do the fake senders. All letter versions lure users into clicking a button/link that will supposedly lead them to their Instagram inbox. Instead, recipients are redirected to an untrustworthy site.
Where they are redirected is determined by users' IP addresses/ geolocations. To elaborate, users may be redirected to legitimate websites; however, they are more likely to be led to harmful pages. Scams of this kind typically endorse a variety of sale-oriented webpages (of either genuine or fraudulent/hazardous products), questionable, deceptive (that run various scams), phishing, and even malicious (malware-proliferating) websites.
In summary, visiting/using such sites can result in system infections, severe privacy issues, significant financial losses, and even identity theft.
| Name | Instagram email scam |
| Threat Type | Phishing, Scam, Social Engineering, Fraud |
| Fake Claim | Scam emails claim recipients have an unread message in their Instagram inboxes. |
| Disguise | Emails are disguised as notifications from Instagram. |
| 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. |
Spam campaigns in general
"Aramex Email Scam", "I Know You Are Cheating On Your Partner", "MoneyGram Email Scam", "Account Security Info Update", and "Uplift International Charity Lottery Program" are some examples of spam campaigns.
The emails are usually disguised as "official", "urgent", "important", and similar. Aside from various scams, deceptive letters are also used to proliferate malware (e.g., trojans, ransomware, etc.). Due to how widespread spam mail is, it is strongly advised to exercise caution with incoming emails and messages.
How do spam campaigns infect computers?
Spam campaigns distribute malware via infectious files attached to or linked inside the scam emails. These files can be in a variety of formats, e.g., Microsoft Office and PDF documents, archives, executables, JavaScript, etc. Malware download/installation is initiated - when the files are opened.
For example, Microsoft Office documents infect systems by executing malicious macro commands. This process begins the moment a document is opened in Microsoft Office versions released before 2010. Newer versions have "Protected View" mode that prevents this, and instead - users can manually enable macros (i.e., editing/content).
How to avoid installation of malware?
To avoid infecting the system via spam mail, it is advised against opening suspicious/irrelevant emails - especially any attachments or links found in them. It is recommended to use Microsoft Office versions released before 2010.
Malware is also spread via dubious download channels (e.g., unofficial and freeware sites, Peer-to-Peer sharing networks, etc.), illegal activation tools ("cracks"), and fake updates. Hence, it is crucial to use official/verified download sources and activate/update programs with tools provided by legitimate developers.
Furthermore, it is paramount to have a reputable anti-virus installed and kept updated. This software has to be used to run regular system scans and to remove threats. 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 fake "Instagram" email letter:
Subject: Joanne has sent you a private message...
Hey,
How are you? Your... Next
View message(s)
Note: If the link above doesn't work, please mark this message as Not Spam and open it from within your Inbox.
© Instagram. Facebook Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Screenshot of another variant of the "Instagram" scam email:
Text presented in this variant:
Subject: Michelle just sent you a direct message...
Hello,
Do you remember me? Your... Next
More information
Note: If the link above doesn't work, please mark the email as Not Spam and open it from within your Inbox.
© Instagram. Facebook Inc., 1601 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Screenshots of websites promoted by the "Instagram" spam campaign:
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Quick menu:
- What is Instagram 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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